Perfect Symmetry
by Monasteriense
Summary: Kid has finally come to accept his feelings about Maka Albarn. But after he expresses them to her, he gets disturbing news that just being around him is killing her. Now he's determined to find a way to stop the effect of fatal "Soul Corrosion". KidxMaka
1. The Taste of Defeat

_Perfect Symmetry_

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><p>(I need a less crappy title!)<p>

**Please note that I do _not_, in fact, own Soul Eater. If I did, there would be a lot more Kid, and I wouldn't be writing a fanfic about it. I would actually be writing Soul Eater. You know. And stuff.**

**There isn't enough Kid and Maka love out there. :c**

**_AND THAT'S_ what made me write my own, (as well as the overwhelming cuteness of this couple. I laugh out loud every time I think about it. I get a lot of weird looks at work.) even though I've never written a real fanfic with characters with preset dispositions before. (I wrote a Monster Hunter one, But that's Monster Hunter. Monsters have no set personality, aside from being mean and occasionally angry, so sorry if this seems OOC at times!)**

**If this fanfic turns out to be somewhat good, and you enjoy it, I'm going to need a kick in the ass to keep writing. To proverbially kick my proverbial ass, leave me a review, favorite, whatever. Those kinds of things drive me to keep writing, because I_ love attention_. (Not really. But really, Reviews are best. Jusayin'.)**

**ALSO. I promise, promise that not all of my intros will be this long. And my chapters not this boring. Sorry! The first chapter is always a bit dull. ._.**

**On to the fic! (OhmygahI'msoexcited!)**

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><p>It was a bright, sunny day in Death City, not unusual in any way. The sun beat down on the concrete, and I stood, unmoving, waiting for the game to start. The group of people I called friends had decided on a basketball game again. Before it was quite common, though as of late we'd been too busy to get a game started. But finally, all of us had found the time to get together again. After playing so many games of basketball in the past, you'd think they'd have figured everything out by now. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. Soul and Black*Star still fought about what would happen to the losing team's leader. As usual, I was singled out as the leader of the team, with Maka on the other side. It still bothered me that they did that, even though my team had yet to lose.<p>

This was mainly because Maka was just awful at the game; along with Crona, who insisted on being on her team. Even though she lost every time and was forced to do her least favorite activity, which was spending time with her father, she never once got angry or complained. I really admired that about her, since patience and understanding were traits I generally lacked.

"No! That's a stupid ass idea! Mine was way better!"

"Screw you, you're idea is so absolutely retarded I'm surprised even _you_ thought of it!"

They had been going back and forth like that for a while now, and at the rate they were going, would be for a lot longer unless someone interjected and made a decision for them.

I sighed, scratching my head for a moment. "What if we just settle on the _usual_ wager?" The usual wager. If I lost, they'd move my paintings that I had hung in my home two centimeters to the left, or Maka would have to spend a day with her father. I could tell by the small noise Maka made, she didn't like that idea one bit, not that she ever did.

"Hm. Seems fair enough." Soul put one hand in his pocket and lazily looked in my direction, spinning the ball on one finger of his other, then looking to Maka. "It's settled then, let's play."

I couldn't imagine the horror of having all of my decorations moved two centimeters, but as I said, we had never lost. So I was a lot less concerned and a bit more cocky than I should have been, in hindsight. Black*Star started with the ball, looking around and quickly passing it to Soul, who tossed it to Liz.

Liz ended up losing the ball to Tsubaki, who intercepted her pass to Soul. She looked around, completely blocked in all but one direction. She quickly passed it to Crona.

"U-uuh..." He looked around helplessly, wondering who to pass it to. He had never really caught onto the game, and if it weren't for Maka's badgering, he would have stayed on the sidelines. He was just about to pass it to Maka, when he was rammed into the ground by Patti.

"Ugh." I sighed heavily, and slapped a hand to my face. "Patti, you don't tackle people in basketball."

"Really?"

_Liz must have more patience than I give her credit for._ How has she dealt with Patti her whole life? "_Really_. Also, Crona is on _your_ team. If you're going to tackle someone have it be on the other side, at least." She sighed, her hands on her hips as she looked down on her sister.

"Awww, but that's no fun!" She stuck her lips out and pouted.

Soul tipped his head slightly, letting out a small sigh as well. "Patti, we tell you this _every_ time we play, and every time you just do it again. Do you ever learn?"

She thought about it for a moment, lifting a finger to her lips and making a small humming sound. She still sat on top of Crona, who seemed to be out-cold. _Poor bastard._ "Nope! I guess not!" She burst into laughter, yanking the ball from Crona's hands and holding it into the air, waving it around like a prize.

Liz turned to me, her hands on still on her hips, staring flatly at her younger sister. "Why do we let her play again?"

I had to think about that for a moment. Why _did_ we let her play? She tackled people despite being told not to. She seemed to have a certain fondness for crushing Crona, specifically. "I don't know." I wisely concluded, and watch Patti finally lift herself off of Crona, although she used his head to push herself up._ She's certainly an odd one, but I don't know what I'd do without her._

After a few more passes, dribbles, shots,and fails, the score was still 0 to 0, and Maka had the ball. That was the guarantee we'd get a point. As much I hated to say it, she was truly awful at this game. However, she had a determined glint in her eye I had never seen before, and she held the ball in both hands, looking around. Black Star was guarding the net, and she was standing over half the court away. I could practically see her think, wondering her next move.

Suddenly, I a tight knot formed in my stomach, and I knew this was going to end badly. Seemingly fed up with having to spend time with her father, she threw the ball, straight for the basket. Black*Star jumped to intercept it, but she had calculated that, and the hard ball hit him straight in the face. Bouncing off of him, the ball hit the backboard and fell through the basket.

_Unbelievable! When did she get good at this?_

She grinned victoriously locking eyes with me for a moment, despite being yelled at by Black*Star. Somewhere behind me, Soul chuckled, and I had a feeling he was responsible for her drastic improvement. Helping a player from the other side? That disgusting traitor! But at the same time, I was happy to see Maka improving. I felt a little something like pride when she did well. "That's it Maka! You're going down!" Black*Star had his teeth clenched, his jaw in a hard line. But Maka laughed in his face.

"Sorry Black*Star, but _you're_ going down. If I have to spend another afternoon with my father, I think I might puke."

(Meanwhile, Spirit, who had been watching via the mirror in the death room, huddled on the floor and sobbed. "She hates me! She really, really hates me!"

"Now, now, Spirit, I'm sure she didn't really mean it!" Father tried to calm him down, but he was failing quite miserably.)

And the game went on, Maka scoring every time she got her hands on the ball. It was hopeless, really. As the moon rose, the score was 7 to 8.

I was about to congratulate Maka on her success, when I realized. We lost. My team lost with seven points; and the wager was _"The Usual"_. My eyes involuntarily widened, and I was frozen with fear. They were...going to move my paintings! The perfect, beautiful symmetry of my home was going to be ruined! It had taken me weeks to get those paintings just right!

"Kid, are you okay?" Liz waved her hand in front of my face, a worry all over hers. "Kiiiiid?"

My mind was spinning. This couldn't be possible! "Asymmetrical..._garbage_..." I coughed, blood splattering to the pavement. The last thing I heard was Maka yelling my name, when everything went black.

**-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-**

I had a dream. A dream in which I was in my house, minding my own business, when I stroll into my bedroom, to find the number seven lying in my bed.

"Come on, Kid." the number is suddenly standing behind me, and whispers in my ear, _"Join me_."

"NO! There's absolutely no way you can be symmetrical! You're disgusting! You're garbage!" I turn around to hit the dreadful thing, but it's gone.

"_Join me!" _echos through the room, and I cover my ears with my hands, not wanting to hear anymore. _"NOOOOOOOO!" _

I wake up; finding myself bolting straight up in a medical bed, covered in cold sweat.

"A-are you okay?"

"Maka?" To my left, Maka is sitting next to me, looking at me worriedly. "I'm glad you're awake, Kid, but that was weird. You were talking in your sleep about symmetry and garbage. Have a bad dream?" She wrung her hands nervously, avoiding making eye contact with me.

"Uh, yeah. You could say that..." I paused, looking at her questioningly. Why was she so nervous? "Is something wrong, Maka?" My neck was stiff, and I tried my best to rub it away, wondering what my odd dream was about. Seven was a dreadful number indeed, but that was just odd. When suddenly, reality hit me like a freight train. "Oh no."_ The paintings._ Seven was asymmetrical, similar to how my house was now.

"I'm sorry Kid! I-I.." She hesitated for a moment, as if she was unsure of what to say, choosing her words carefully. "I tried to talk them out of it, but..." She hesitated, and looked down at the floor. "Well...Your house might not be so symmetrical anymore."

I closed my eyes, and fell back, letting out a loud groan. Damn it. It was going to take me days to fix it, weeks even! But wait. Maka had tried to talk them out of it? _Why?_ I turned my head to look at her. She looked so innocent, and apologetic at the same time. "You always take your punishment without a complaint. Why would you try and help me? I thought you'd be reveling in your victory."

"Well, it's my fault you lost, so I was just..." She fidgeted, not sure how to answer. "I know you hate things that are asymmetrical way more than I hate spending time with my father."

"It's fine, Maka. Really." _No, it isn't fine. My beautiful symmetry... Ruined..._ "I'm not mad at you, or anything. I never could be."

"You don't look like it's fine. You're paler than usual and you look like you want to puke," She pointed out. A small, concerned frown covering her face, making her look like a child.

I gave her a small, flat stare. _Well, thanks for that._

"but you aren't mad, really?" The frown faded, replaced by a relieved smile. She looked much better that way, in my opinion. A smile definitely suited her better.

"No, not at you." I was undeniably pissed off, but my anger was directed at Soul, Black*Star, and mostly myself. _Why did I ever suggest moving my paintings as a consequence?_

"Oh! But I still feel bad about it; I'll help you make them right again, if you want." She finally, _finally_ looked at me with her shining green eyes. I'd never really appreciated them before, but now, locked with mine at such close proximity, they were stunning. The color of an emerald, shining in the sun. _Wait._ It took me a moment to realize what she had just said. I was so distracted by her, and the traits I had taken for had the kindness and selflessness I could only pretend I possessed. But, to help me? We were close friends, and we spent a lot of time together in the library and such; But she was willing to deal with me when my symmetry obsession would be that intense? Even Liz and Patti cleared out when that happened.

"Really? You would do that? For me?" I wanted to hug her, even if it was partly her fault for my situation, I didn't care. In all honesty, I had thought about Maka before, my feelings for her, and who she was. But until now, I had never really thought much of hers, or considered acting on my feelings, at least. I had made subtle gestures before, 'accidentally' touching her hand or offering to take her out to lunch. She had agreed, but we always went as friends. I never really tried to move forward past that, or even acknowledge the true intensity of the feeling before, on the assumption she didn't care much for me as anything more than a friend and partner; I thought she had eyes only for Soul. The way she was always by his side, sitting next to him, laughing with him.

But thinking about it more closely, she was angry with him most of the time, hit him with her book multiple times a day, and I had never seen any intimate gestures, like holding hands, between them. The same went for Soul. He mocked her constantly for her physical build, seemed uninterested in her problems and concerns, and seemed to flirt with other girls when she wasn't around. Soul wasn't her emotional crutch, she came to me for that. When she wanted advice, when she had a problem, when she wanted comfort, I was the one she leaned on. She could very well go to Tsubaki or my father, the former of which was one of her closest friends. _Damn, I'm an idiot._

"Whenever you're feeling better, we can go."

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><p><strong>Aaaand, that's it for the first chapter. I hope it wasn't too dreadful. (I have no idea how to play Basketball. Sorry for vagueness!)<strong>

**So, back when I had no plot for this fic, I started and outline...and it didn't go very well Right now, half of it looked like this:**

_**Enough fluff to choke a teddy bear**_

_**More random fluffy crap filler shit? I dunno. I like watermelon. I want something to be about watermelon! They should go to a watermelon festival as a date, or something! A watermelon festival would be the shit, though. If I started one, how many people would go...? (You have no idea how hard it is for me to not make a racist comment here.)**_

**THISISFIRETRUCKINGHARD**

_**Maybe they could, like, go on a mission together. To an island full of bunnies and rainbows, when a magical keshan unicorn stabs Kid in the face, and it's magical horn-power makes him really horny, so he's all like, **_**"HEY BABY, I BET YOUR BOOBS ARE PERFECTLY SYMMETICAL!"****_ or "_Baby, if you were words on a page, you'd be what they call FINE PRINT!"_ or something like that._**

_**With that out of the way, naturally they bang all the time. This, however, leads to Maka getting a new type of disease, a REAST INFECTION. (A reaper yeast infection thingy. Ew.) that requires a very special thing to cure: Lord Death's tears. Desperately seeking the cure, she races to the death room, but Death can smell the REAST INFECTION from a mile away, and hides in the sewers of Death City because Maka wants to make him cry, and he's not okay with that.**_

_**With that plan failed, Maka and Kid set off on a quest to find Chuck Norris, who can roundhouse kick her crotch back to non-REASTyness and whatever.**_

**That's not the real plot. I promise! The plot won't really take off until Chapter 5, because I didn't _have_ one until then. So, chapters 1-4 will mostly be unimportant fluff.**


	2. An Asymmetrical Abode

P_erfect _S_ymmetry_

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><p>(Still working on that new title)<p>

_**I still don't own Soul Eater. If that changes anytime soon, I'll let you know.**_

**Thanks for the reviews guys! It totally motivates me to write more, even though I should be sleeping! **

**I'm already sure this fic is going to get itself plopped into the "M Rated" category eventually, but not right now. **

**Also, I noticed I had written in two different tenses from time to time last chapter. Whoops! I'll look through and fix those sometime. First person is kind of shitty to write! (Actually, I just lack skills.)**

**I swear to god, I had more of me rambling than actual story in the first chapter. -facepalm- Eventually, I'm just going to have chapters titled, "Author's Ramblings" that are all me talking about crap that shouldn't be in the intro but currently is, to avoid the very problem I'm having right now. Anyway, to avoid that again, (Though I think it's too late) I'm just going to start the story now.**

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><p>As Maka and I walked, side by side back to my mansion, I was feeling uneasy; The closer we got, the tighter the knot in my stomach became. Would I be able to handle it? Black*Star and Soul were the ones who shifted my things, who knows what else they could have done! What if Black*Star had signed his name on something? It would never come off of the white walls! My breathing picked up, and as I reached for the handle of my door, I was damn near hyperventilating.<p>

"Kid, are you _sure_ you're okay?" Maka peeked up at me, concern in her eyes. I tried my best to smile at her at least a little, but that failed. I chewed my lip, hand shaking the knob of the door, creating a small rattling noise. "Kid, you're really freaking me out right now." She gently rested one of her hands on my arm; a comforting gesture, but it didn't really work.

"Oh! Uh, S-sorry Maka! I guess I'm just...Haha...ha..." I inhaled sharply, holding my breath as time seemed to stop. _I might as well get it over with._ No point in standing out in the sun all day. Mustering what seemed like all of my willpower, I pushed the door open, cautiously stepping inside. The hinges groaned ominously, a thin stream of light illuminating the floor. Otherwise, it was pitch black in the house, and I fumbled for the light switch, despite knowing exactly where it was. _I must look like such an idiot right now. _I finally flicked the light switch upward, finally letting myself breathe as I noticed my entryway was still perfectly symmetrical.

"Hm, just like I remember it!" Maka looked in, examining the black and white interior.

Oh, that was right. Maka had been in my mansion once for a party; but had never gone further inside then the living room. Now she was visiting when the symmetry was off! It was embarrassing and unforgivable. Next time we played basketball, the usual wager was off. Maybe a better deal would be to give Soul a new scar to match the one already on his chest, going the other direction. _Oh, the irony_. Making a mental note of that, I stepped further inside, looking around at everything like I thought a monster could be hiding anywhere. Everything seemed alright up the stairs and around the halls, until I stepped into my study. There, above the candles, the painting that had once been perfectly aligned, was very slightly to the right. Maka stepped in, and looked around.

"It looks symmetrical to me. Maybe they took pity on you." She raised her eyebrows and looked at me.

"N-no...that painting...It's..too far to the right..." My eye twitched, and I could feel a nosebleed coming on. No, I wasn't going to pass out! I could handle this, I was stronger than that!

Maka walked up to the desk, and rested her hands on it, leaning forward examining the painting closely. "Oh. I guess it is a _tiny_ bit to the right." She reached up, giving it a small poke with one finger. The action pushed it to the left, to correct it.

I appreciated the gesture, and she had just overdone it a little. "Now it's too far to the left!" Unable to help it, and strode over to the desk, closing one eye and making a slight adjustment to the right again, just a hair. But no! Now it was too far to the right _again! _"Damn it!" I ground my teeth, and tried to right it again, only to have it be too far to the left. Maybe I needed a measure tape, that would help...

"I can see why it took you so long to get this perfectly symmetrical." Maka laughed nervously, but I had mostly tuned her out. Making this room perfectly symmetrical again would require my undivided attention. Finally, I thought I had it. I stepped back, and looked at it closely. It seemed to be alright...but how could I be sure? I had to check!

"_Kid_. It's fine."

I turned and stared at her like a deer in headlights. "Oh. Do you think so?" I took another look at it_. No, it isn't_. But I didn't want to fight with her."Uh, yes. Perfect." I could feel it, a buzzing in the back of my brain just wouldn't accept it. It could wait until after she left, I hoped. I hadn't noticed, but she had sat on the desk, and was kicking the wooden frame with her boots, making an rhythmic _thud-thud-thud. _If that painting had been just right, the whole scene would have been perfectly symmetrical, even with Maka in the picture. She really was beautiful.

"That wasn't so hard! It looks perfectly symmetrical to me." She smiled at me, and I couldn't help but smile back, and chuckle a bit.

"I guess it really wasn't. But I'm sorry to make you come all this way for seemingly nothing; that took no time at all." I sat down next to her, and my smile turned sheepish. "Can I make you some tea, so your trip isn't a complete waste of time?"

"I didn't think it was a waste of time at all! I got to see what you're house looks like, and it's pretty cool." She stood up, and fixed her coat. "But I would like some tea, if you're willing to make it!"

"Of course." I couldn't cook to save my life, but I could at least make tea. It was easy, Just boil water, and put the tea bag in. I even had a very special kind, the design on the bags was perfectly symmetrical black and white design, and I quite liked it. I hadn't had tea in a while, though. What flavor was it again? I vaguely recalled it being something cinnamon. I led her to the kitchen, although I hadn't used it much, it was well stocked and full of things; though almost none of it was food. No matter where I looked, I couldn't find the tea. "Where did I put it? I could have sworn it was over here." but, the cabinet that should have held my tea didn't. But, Maka just sat patiently waiting on me. "I'm sorry to make you wait Maka, I can't seem to find that damn stuff." I finally gave up, huffing as I dropped into a chair. She took a seat across from me, smiling pleasantly.

"This really was a waste of time for you, wasn't it? I'm really sorry, Maka."

"No! I don't think this was a waste of time at all. I'm enjoying myself a lot, actually."

"Really? Well, I'm glad, then. Unfortunately, I don't have much left to offer you. I don't cook my own food or anything, you see, so this kitchen is virtually empty, though I have all the utensils I could ever need."

"If you aren't good at cooking, why do you have so much stuff?" She tipped her head in the most adorable way. Looking at me with eyes like an affectionate dog. Is that weird, that I just compared her to a dog? Would that offend her if she knew? Probably. I hadn't received a book to the skull yet, and I wasn't planning on it happening.

"My mother liked to cook. Or so I'm told, anyway." Maka looked horribly apologetic, like I'd be offended somwhow. Maybe if I was younger, I would have been. It didn't bother me now; I had accepted that my mother was gone as a part of life. There was a lot I didn't know about her, though. My father would always give me a half-answer and change the subject, his usual way of avoiding something he didn't want to talk about. "I'm quite awful at it, really." I left out the fact that it all burned; mostly because I set the timer for eight hours, eight minutes, and eight seconds. I actually didn't try and do that on purpose, it just happened without me noticing. Honestly! "Liz is always too busy with her nails or something girly like that, and well, I don't think Patti could cook anything without having something awful happening. Burning down the house, poisoning me, the possibilities are endless, really. I've never been brave enough to find out what exactly would happen. I suspect I might turn into a zombie like Sid." I had been drumming my fingers on the table, distracted from my rant only by Maka's giggling. "What?"

"You!" Her giggles turned into laughter, and she struggled to keep it in check. She had such a cute laugh, one I had the privilege of hearing often. It always made me feel a little better, and the world seem a bit brighter. I couldn't help but laugh with her, even though I had no idea what was so funny. It was just contagious.

I finally stopped laughing enough to ask, "Why am I so funny?" I rested my chin in my hand, leaning on the table, an amused grin refusing to leave. "Was I rambling?"

"Yeah, you were. But really, just the way you said everything!" She let out a small hum as her fit passed, and she glanced at a clock on the wall nearby. "Oh crap! It's late!" It was amazing how Maka could go from one subject to another.

"Hm?" I looked up at the clock, reading that it was around 10:30 p.m. "We have school tomorrow, don't we?" _That's disappointing. too bad she can't stay longer._

Maka nodded furiously, "I have to get home! I don't want to be tired tomorrow in class!" She flew out of her chair, and ran out of the room. I stood up slowly as she entered the kitchen through a different doorway. She stood dumbfounded for a moment.

"I'll show you the way out." With a wave, I led her through the hous,e to the front door. Was it really that complicated? It seemed simple to me. Maybe she had just been rushing and forgot. As we stepped outside, I looked up at the moon. It was late, alright. "Would you like me to walk you home? It's dangerous for a girl to be out this late." Truly, I knew she didn't need an escort. She could kick more ass than any girl I had ever met. It was just an excuse to spend more time with her, on my part.

"Sure, I'd like that." She nodded. "As long as you hurry."

"In that case. I'll see you tomor-" _Wait._ She had said yes? I was certain she'd say no. "_Oh_. Well, let's go then. No need to waste more time." We started down the steps in silence, the only sounds were the sound of our feet against stone and the morbid cackling of the moon overhead. I wanted to say something, but I didn't know what.

After a few long moments, she broke the silence for me, "So, are you very close with Liz and Patti?"

That seemed like a stupid question, the answer being, "Of course." Maka didn't need to ask a question like that. Unless she was trying to get a little deeper. Suddenly, I saw what she was doing. "But, it's more of a mutual respect, a bond of weapon and meister. Nothing more, nothing less." I looked over at her, and she seemed to be a bit more relaxed. Relieved, even.

"Yeah, it's like that with me and Soul, too. Though, everyone seems to think otherwise. I do love him, but as a partner, not a..." She seemed to struggle to find a word, finally deciding on, "lover. He's just so aggravating sometimes!" She looked up as she walked, taking a left off the main road. "I wonder if he feels that way, too. If I annoy him sometimes. I know he's not telling me everything he feels. It's frustrating sometimes, when he tells me half-truths or nothing at all. But, I guess it's just the kind of guy he is."

I soaked up every word, thinking it over. So, Maka loved Soul as a partner, but she definitely needed breaks from him, and visa versa. As I mulled it over, she stopped, and I realized we were there. I looked up at the colorful apartment. It was interesting, though completely devoid of any form of symmetry. _Disgusting._

"Well, this is it. Thanks for walking me home, Kid." She smiled, and wrapped her arms around my waist. I hugged her, giving her back a small pat. Almost every time we parted ways we shared a hug, but this time, she seemed unwilling to let go.

"Any time. It was my pleasure, Maka." We finally stepped away, and she entered the apartment with a final wave as I turned around to head home. I realized, though, that I had been so wrapped up in my own thoughts that I had no idea where I was, exactly. I knew most of Death City's roads and streets by heart, but this was really out of the way. _"Crap." _

It took a while of meandering around, but I eventually found a place I knew, and started home. It seemed I might have a chance with Maka after all. She didn't have romantic feelings for Soul, she seemed more like a mother to Crona than a love interest, and Black*Star? That was just out of the question. He was just as egotistical and annoying to her as he was to everyone but Tsubaki. Feeling a bit better, a smile crept onto my face, and it stayed that way the entire walk back home. _I really don't live that far away from their apartment. _The walk there seemed to be a lot shorter than the walk back though. "That's because I was a bit lost, obviously." I muttered to myself, and pushed my door open, quietly entering the house. If Liz and Patti were sleeping, I certainly didn't want to wake them.

"Now it's time to fix that painting."

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><p><strong>If you can think of a better title for this chapter, please let me know. The current one is <em>so<em> much fail!**


	3. Failure Done Right

P_erfect_ S_ymmetry_

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><p><em>(That new title will come to me eventually.)<em>

**I'm bored in drawing class, so yay for chapter 3! I finished all my work (I had to draw a portrait of Selena Gomez. I don't normally draw people! D: ). But my friend and I starting drawing a random comic about us, so I typed a whole 4 sentences before 80 minutes of my time was lost to being an idiot.**

**I just want to note that Kid will harbor a severe dislike of Black*Star, because I think he's an egotistical little douchebag dickface, and that's going to rub off on him. **

**(If you happen to like Black*Star, sorry!)**

**Thanks so much for the reviews, guys!**

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><p>I had to practically be dragged into the DWMA by Liz and Patti the next morning. I had restored the beautiful, flawless symmetry of my home, but I had spent all night doing it. As soon as I had flopped down onto my bed to sleep, Patti was up and running around. I looked awful, and I knew it. I had caught my reflection in the mirror as I left. But I was too tired to care; and that was impressive. Under my eyes was dark, my hair was completely devoid of it's usual (mostly) symmetrical flawlessness, and I almost radiated my feeling of sleep deprivation. Usually I kept my eyes about half open, but now I was struggling to keep my eyelids up even a little. I could see now why Maka wanted to be to bed so early. This was almost as awful as my house being asymmetrical.<p>

The walk to the classroom seemed to be never ending, but I could finally take my seat, in between Liz and Patti. I let my head fall onto the wood of the row behind me, creating a satisfying, though slightly painful, thunk.

"Feeling alright, Kid?" Soul smirked in my direction, but I was too tired to even glare at him. Of _course_ I wasn't feeling alright, and it was his and Black*Star's fault.

I settled with half-hearted mumble of, "Fuck off, Soul." and a heavy sigh, trying my best to keep my eyes open, despite being so tired it hurt. As Stein rolled into the classroom, I forced myself to lean forward, trying to get some comfort out of resting my face in my palm, propped up by my elbow.

Stein began a long lecture, something about dissecting a panda, that I didn't really care about. Before I knew it, my eyes drifted shut.

I was standing in a field, the grass white, and the sky black. In the distance, I could see a dark figure, hunched over something glowing brightly. A soul? A high, tooth jarring noise filled the air, like a nail on a chalkboard. The shadow seemed to have massive claws, dragging them over the shining surface of the soul...

I was woken suddenly by pain in my forehead, and a loud thunk. Soul was trying to cover up his hissing laughter, and I heaved a sigh. I didn't even want to lift my head up. It took a lot of effort, but I somehow managed. Soul was still snickering, and on top of the throbbing pain in my eyes, now my forehead hurt. This was going to be a _fantastic _day. What had I even done? I had fallen asleep on my hand. My face must have slipped, and gravity forced my face to the wooden desktop. _How wonderfully embarrassing_. Despite that, I was still just too damn tired to sit up normally. So, I unwisely resumed my previous position.

Trying to stay awake was like trying to fight gravity. I struggled to keep my eyes open, to just_ focus_, but that wasn't going to happen. I finally gave up after a decent bought of twitching and keeping one eye open at a time, and let my eyes drift shut again. I was woken again by a whizzing sound next to my ear, and a small thud behind me. I snapped my eyes open, and looked behind me. There was a scalpel lodged into the wood. "What the hell?"

"There will be no sleeping in my class, _Kid._" Stein was glaring at me out of the corner of his eyes, "Next time I won't miss." His glasses flashed ominously as he played with another scalpel in between his fingers.

_Is he insane? _"Y-yes sir, it won't happen again!"

"It better not. I'd rather not dull my scalpels."

_Dull his scalpels? Really? _He was a madman sometimes, but from that point on, I sat straight up, diligently paying attention to anything and everything he was saying. I had been shocked awake, so I couldn't deny the effectiveness of his methods. Class was finally dismissed, and I found it hard to get up, even though going home and sleeping for the rest of the day sounded wonderful.

Stein chimed in, adding to the students who were leaving, "Don't forget about the test we have tomorrow." He spun around on his chair, and I paused. A test. _Wonderful._ I crossed my arms on the desk, and buried my face in the crease of my arm. A test I was doomed to fail, like all the others. Honestly, I didn't _mean_ to be so anal about writing my name, but it was just so irritating when something was off! How could I not take the time to fix it? Maybe this time I could at least avoid passing out...

"Maka, it's your turn to cook. You didn't forget to shop again, did you?" Soul stood up across the room, grabbing my attention, addressing her as she walked up to him.

"Nope! I've got everything we need!"

"Cool."

"So, Kid," Maka looked down at me, and I turned my head just enough to see her, "are you okay? You look pretty beat."

"Just tired, is all." I shot an evil glare at Soul for effect, and he raised his hands up defensively.

"Don't blame this on me, you're the one who lost. I was just following a rule _you_ suggested."

Damn. He had me there. I was the one who suggested the usual wager, and I lost. I couldn't complain about that, especially after Maka had been forced to spend so much time with her father...

She was staring at me, with an expression of amusement, mild annoyance, and slight disbelief. "You were really up all night fixing that stupid painting?"

"It's not a stupid painting! It wasn't _symmetrical_!" I sat up, suddenly defensive, and continued, "I can't live in a disgusting, asymmetrical house! It would be garbage! I wouldn't deserve to live if I had to be in such a home!" ...There was a long, awkward pause. I cleared my throat, turned around. "I'll be off to find Liz and Patti then."

Soul just scratched his head, and Maka blinked at me. "Okay. See you later then."

"Right." I turned and left, cursing myself internally. But really, a house that was asymmetrical? Unacceptable, that was all there was to it. I searched hallways for Liz and Patti, tired, annoyed with myself, and ready to just die. I could feel my chances of gaining Maka's favor dwindling rapidly. "Damn it!" When my annoyance reached its peak after wandering around the school aimlessly for twenty minutes, I gave up on finding the sisters, and decided to just head home. As I walked out, I noticed there a fight going on. My curiosity made me stop and watch, as it seemed to be between Soul and Black*Star. I stood next to Maka, who look flustered and annoyed. I watched with half-interest, focused more on Maka. "What are they fighting about?"

Maka let out a small huff, "They're arguing over which one of them is better. Soul says he's the coolest, and Black*Star always has to be the center of attention, so he doesn't agree. And of course, Black*Star has to fight about it." She looked a bit distressed, but I felt like I was going to enjoy myself. It brought me great satisfaction to remember I had kicked both of their asses at the same time at one point.

"Well. They'll make up afterward, I'm sure." They always did, after all.

"I know but.. I still can't help but worry." She huffed again, and put her hands on her hips. "They're such idiots sometimes!"

I couldn't help but laugh at her, she was like a mother hen, fussing over her friends and getting her feathers all ruffled about it. "We're all idiots sometimes. I guess I can't point fingers, after my spell earlier."

"Don't worry about it Kid. I've gotten used to it," She pouted a bit more, "and I should really be used to this by now."

Something about her innocent statement irked me. 'Used to it?' To be used to it, I had to do it a lot. Was I really that much of a psychopath? I didn't lose it _that_ often, did I? _Crap._ As I mulled over that, Patti and Liz crept up behind me, escaping my notice until Patti screamed, "RIP HIS ARM OFF!" right next to my ear.

"Patti!" I scowled at her, but she was either oblivious to it, or didn't care. I had yet to know which it truly was; My money was on the latter, though. "I've been looking all over for you two."

"Yeah, so have we." Liz tapped her foot, bending her body to see the fight going on in a way that exaggerated all of her features. Did she try and do that, or did it just happen? There was a loud shout, and I, reminded of the fight, turned back to it. But, it seemed to be over already, and Soul and Black*Star were running towards each other in slow motion, alternatively shouting each others names.

"Soul!"

Black*Star!"

"_Soooul_!"

"Black*_Staaaar_!"

Maka seemed relieved, but a bit skeptical at the same time.

"Do you ever think they might have a bit more than bromance between them?" I chuckled.

She sighed as they hugged each other, laughing like girls as they reconciled. "Sometimes, I wonder." She hummed, and looked up at me. "So, are you ready for the test tomorrow, Kid?"

I urked involuntarily. _The test. _I laughed, albeit nervously, and scratched the back of my head. "Of course I'm ready! Ha ha ha!"

Maka, however, saw right through me. Damn her perception. "Do you even study?"

"Study...?" I thought about it for a moment. I thought back to all of our major tests, and realized I hadn't, not once. I meant to, but I always got distracted by something. Last time, it was Liz's eyebrows. "Well... I try, and I always mean to, but..." I glanced down at Maka, who was sending a very stern glare in my direction. I couldn't lie to her. "No, no I don't." I admitted.

"Well then, I'll help you."

"_What_?" She had her bottom lip stuck out, a determined expression on her face. Her brows were scrunched together, her lip curled up slightly. No matter what I decided, I wasn't getting out of it. She looked so damn cute that way, I had to fight a smile. "Oh, alright. If you _insist_."

"Yeah!" She pumped her fist victoriously, her grin suddenly devious. "You'll _ace_ that test if it's the last thing I do!"

"Jeez, Maka, why are you so excited about studying?" Soul had sauntered over, his hands behind his head. "That's so uncool. I'd much rather just cheat on it."

"MAKA-CHOP!"

Soul was then sent flying to the ground as a copy of War and Peace slammed into his skull, held by his meister. "_Oww_!"

_Where did that book come from? _I idly wondered how she had obtained the book.

"Soul Eater Evans, you will _not_ cheat on this test!" Maka snarled at him, her incredibly large book still held threateningly above her head.

_How did she get a hold of it? She has no bag or anything! _Now it was beginning to bother me.

Soul cringed at the use of his full name, still holding his dented head mournfully. "Alright! If you don't hit me, I won't cheat on the stupid test!"

_Seriously, did she conjure the book out of thin air? _Was she magic? I was still reeling about how she got that book! It made _no_ sense whatsoever!

"Good!" She waved the book at him one more time, reminding him of the pain, and pointedly ignored his response of, "So uncool." to look at me. "We better get started then! The test is tomorrow, and if you haven't studied at all, you have a lot of catching up to do!" She grabbed my wrist, and yanked my down the steps of the academy, and I was helpless to do anything but be dragged. I didn't even have a chance to say good-bye to Liz and Patti. But she was on a war path, and I wasn't going to try and stop her. She finally stopped at the front door of the apartment. I huffed and panted, trying to catch my breath. That girl could _move_ when she wanted to.

She stood, not out of breath in the least, and opened the door. "C'mon, then! We can't afford to waste time!"

With one last pant, I regained my composure, following her inside, looking around as I did so. It was gaudily colorful, and not symmetrical in the least. I wrinkled my nose at the bad taste of the interior design, but followed Maka like a dog nonetheless. She stopped at a door that looked identical to all the others, fumbling in her pocket to find her key. She did, and unlocked the door.

"Come in, then!" She chirped, and held the door open for me.

"Thank you, Maka. I rea-" As soon as I put on foot in the door, I was tackled by a mysterious assailant, completely naked, with huge breasts that were being shoved into my face.

"Soul! I'm so glad you're back! I was _so_ lonely while you were gone!"

I was simply shocked and dazed, not expecting to be molested by the perverted cat as soon as I stepped in, and my mind was reeling. _So...so big..._So big, in fact, I couldn't breath. And despite all my struggling, the cat had an iron grip. I was starting to get a bit light headed...

"_Blair!_ That isn't Soul! But hell, even if it was, why are you attacking people like that?" She snapped at the cat, who finally noticed who she had attacked was in fact, me and not Soul.

"...Oh! Silly me!" She finally let me go, and I inhaled deeply. I could breathe again!

"Go put on some clothes!" Snapping at the cat, who stuck out her tongue at Maka, she put a hand on my back, checking me over worriedly. "I'm so sorry, Kid! I had no idea she would do that! Although really, I should expect it by now...Either way, I'm so sorry!"

"You don't..have to apologize." I half-smiled at her, but it quickly faded. I wasn't quite fully recovered the dizziness of oxygen deprivation. "It wasn't your fault." I looked into the apartment, and to my relief, the cat was gone. I ground my teeth, "You should get her spayed!" I said it loud enough for her to hear, but she ignored me.

Maka sighed, and led me inside. "Well, on that high note we should probably get started, right?"

"Right." I nodded in agreement, and took a seat next to her on the soft, red couch. Studying, huh? It was a fairly new experience on my part, but I could already tell it wasn't going to be very fun. Being with Maka might make it worthwhile, though. "Alright! So we should definitely start with what we learned today!"

As she started to tutor me, I really did try and listen, but the tiredness that has plagued my all morning was creeping back, and my responses to Maka were shorter, less frequent, and my eyelids were starting to droop again. She finally relieved me from the torture, "Do you want to take a nap or something, Kid?"

_Yes, oh please Death, yes._. "No, I couldn't! I don't want to imp_oo_-" I was cut off by a yawn, betrayed by my own body. "-_ooo_se."

"No, really Kid, I don't mind. Nap on the couch or something, I should probably start making dinner anyways, or Soul will get mad at me." She smiled pleasantly, and stood up. Too tired to refuse anymore, I stretched on the couch. It felt so good to lie down! I sighed contently, and finally I could let my eyes willingly close. I was relieved to finally get some rest, and grateful to Maka for letting me do so on her couch. "I'll wake you up when the food's done, kay?"

"Mhm." It barely more than a mumble, but I couldn't muster up much more than that as a response. With a content sigh, I drifted off to sleep.

* * *

><p><strong>You know, writing out someone falling asleep is weird to me. It seems like there's just no good way to say it. But maybe that's just me. Also, does anyone else get that pain in your eyeballs for lack of sleep? If I go to bed at 5 am and wake up at 9am, it feels like a headache, but it's in my eyes. Kind of like when you have a cold and your sinuses are all stuffed up?<strong>

**On a side note, whenever I go to type "This" Open office assumes I want to type "THISISHARD" because of my outline fail.  
><strong>**It's annoying.**


	4. Did We Get Anything Done?

Perfect Symmetry

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><p><em>(I really do promise I'm working on that better title.)<em>

**You know, this is kinda of random, but there are two things I can't tolerate; children, and being cold. And where I work, I have tot deal with both of those things, since my boss refuses to turn the thermostat higher than 50 degrees, I swear to god. And then the screaming children come in, and ugh. Anyway, the point of this ramble is that me and Kid have the same body type (Tall and thin; which) so is he as susceptible to the cold as I am? Hm. I know he doesn't overheat, but is the cold different, somehow?**

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><p>All I could do was sit around, really. I was planning on cooking, but Soul was MIA, and Kid was asleep; so what was the point? I could have just cooked for him, but I didn't have the heart to wake him up. He was just sleeping, so peacefully, and he looked like he really needed it. Yup, Kid was a little crazy sometimes, and he was definitely OCD, but being around him was never boring. I smiled at the thought of his symmetry spasms. They were random, a bit violent, and involved a lot of yelling, but they had never been directed at me, so maybe that's why I found them really funny and amusing, when it seemed to irritate everyone else. Plus, it just wouldn't be Kid if he didn't have a crazy spell from time to time.<p>

Actually, now that I though about it, I was a bit surprised he hadn't passed out from just how asymmetrical Soul and I's apartment was. Maybe he hadn't fully noticed it yet? I tapped my foot on the floor. Or maybe he was ignoring it? If that was the case, he was doing a damn good job. But would he really do that for my benefit? I didn't know, and wasn't in the mood to think too hard about it.

I watched Kid for a moment, the way he looked so relaxed, so calm, and so childish, with the way his face was being pushed up by the arm of the couch. He was way too tall for the loveseat he had crashed on, and his legs were hanging off the edge. I couldn't help but laugh. He looked like such an idiot!

But that wouldn't spare me from boredom, and I decided to read a book. Such wonderful things, books were. A different adventure, a new plot, new characters to pull on your heart, make you cry, laugh, whatever you felt you needed. So, I sat down with one I had gotten from the library, Kid had suggested it to me, if I recalled. I sat down on the unoccupied couch, across from Kid, and started to read.

I had barely read two pages, when the front door creaked open, and Soul stepped in. He waved at me lazily, and inspected the kitchen. Noticing the absence of food, he stared at me flatly. "Maka, it's _your_ turn to cook."

"I know." My eyes drifted to Kid, and Soul followed my gaze, when he realized Kid was there.

"Care to explain?" He looked at me, head slightly tilted, raising his eyebrows at me questioningly.

"Well, we were studying, but he was tired, as you know, so I told he could just sleep on the couch for a while." I peeked at Soul sheepishly over the top of my book. He wouldn't get mad at me for something like that, would he? No, that wasn't like Soul. Instead, an evil- looking grin spread across his face, and I was suddenly _incredibly_ concerned. "Soul..." I glared at him, growling a warning at him. Whatever he was planning, I wanted none of it.

"What? I'm not going to do anything to hurt Kid!" Soul was still grinning, though, and began to rummage through the drawers in the kitchen.

"If you touch one hair on his head, I'm going to damage more your brain more than it already is! Can you afford that?"

"Probably not, but I'll take my chances." He chuckled, and there was a small pop as he turned around, an uncapped permanent marker in his hand.

"You wouldn't."

"Oh, I would." He crept around the other side of the couch, crouching down to be level with Kid's face.

I flew out of my seat, bringing the spine of my very large book down on his head. "Soul! I warned you!" I hissed at him, not wanting to wake up Kid. He practically growled at me, holding his head, the marker laying on the floor. I sighed in relief, but a glance at Kid's face left me staring in horror. There was a thick, squiggly line on his right cheek. My attempt to defend him had backfired, and forced the marker in Soul's hand own his face. "Oh _shit_." I kicked Soul in the ass, sending him forward to the floor. Luckily for him, his face was there to break his fall. "You idiot! He's going to have a _bitch_ fit when he wakes up!" It was permanent marker, too, so there was no way I could somehow get rid of it and not wake him up.

"Well, my drawing was going to be 'symmetrical', but you messed it up." He pouted at me, saying it like it was my fault.

"I'm going to mess your face up if you don't get out of my sight." I hissed at him, staring him straight in the crimson eyes.

"Tch. So uncool." But either way, he sat up, and mumbled all the way to his room. The door clicked behind him, followed by loud scuffling sounds.

"Soul! I was so lonely when you were gone!"

She was certainly a broken record. I heard a few more scuffling sounds, followed by, "Blair! Get _out_!" and the scantily clad cat being literally kicked out the door.

"Aw, well that's no fun." She pouted, crossing her arms over her ridiculously large chest. "Well then, I'll just go out." She huffed, and slammed the door as she left, making me cringe. I glanced at Kid, hoping nothing had woken him up. But his eyes were still shut, allowing me to sigh in relief. Though I wondered if anything would wake him up at this point. I noticed, though, that Kid didn't look so peaceful anymore. He was breathing heavily, his body covered in sweat, his hands and legs twitched occasionally. _Is he okay? Maybe I should wake him up... _I was about to touch his shoulder, to shake him awake, but he let out a long sigh, and his fit seemed to pass. Was he having a bad dream again?

There was nothing I could do, really. I brushed his damp hair away from his face, sighing. My stomach growled loudly. Right, dinner. I really did have to cook something; But what? I had no idea what Kid liked. I figured cooking Soul's favorite food would be the best way to reconcile with him at the moment. I sighed heavily, and started to take out the ingredients and tools I needed. I really hated cooking. I turned on the radio to make it a bit less painful. A song I particularly liked came on, and I couldn't help but sing along. I really did enjoy singing, but I knew I was awful at it, so I never did when anyone was around to hear me. Kid was sleeping, though, so that didn't count.

**-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-**

As I fell asleep again, I once again found myself standing in the negative plain of grass. The shadowed figure was there again, a shining blue soul in it's grasp. The scraping sound filled the air again, but it sounded so much worse than before. It was a sound I couldn't describe, but it was truly awful. I was sweating, the air of the place so cold I was shivering. I had to know what that figure was, though. I forced myself to go closer, until I could see the partly lit thing, scraping it's claws on the soul. It looked like a beast of some kind, laying on it's stomach. It held the soul against the ground with one massive paw, using the other to gouge the blue light trapped under it. I looked at the soul closely, and finally recognized it as Maka's.

I woke to someone touching me, brushing the clinging hair away from my face. I sighed softly. I could hear Maka rustling about in the kitchen, turning on the radio, and beginning to...sing? I had never heard her even make so much as an effort at singing.

"_It starts in my toes, and I crinkle my nose.." _

I turned my head slightly to hear her better. I only needed to hear one line to notice out she had an amazing singing voice. I didn't recognize the song, though.

"_Wherever it go-oes I always know, that you make me smile now, please stay for a while now," _

I could deal with being woken up for this. She didn't match the pitch of the singer, but created a new melody that worked just as well with the music of the song. Maka had never sang for anyone before, at least that he knew of, but she really should. I knew something about Maka that no one else did, and it was an oddly empowering feeling. I felt like I knew her better than anyone, and because of that, it was only natural she would be mine.

"_What am I gonna say, when you make me feel this wa-a-ay?"_

It was odd, the way the song suddenly seemed to match what I was feeling. My chest seemed to tighter, and then soar, filled with longing and promise. That was probably the sappiest thing I had ever said in my life, but still; What could I say to her? How could I approach her? Would she reject me if I asked her out? Was I stuck in the infamous 'friend zone'? I prayed not. I wanted to see, to take a risk and ask her if she felt the same way I was. But, I didn't want to ask and have the answer be no. I would definitely feel awkward around her if that happened...But my mind nagged at me to jump in, just do it. She showed all the signs of being interested in me. While I _might_ fail if I tried, I would _definitely_ fail if I didn't.

"_It starts in my soul, and I lose all control, when you kiss my no-ose, the feeling shows, 'cause you make me smile, baby just take your time now..."_

That was it, then. My body didn't want to get up, but I forced it to. I groaned softly at the effort, but sat up, leaning on the back of the couch, watching Maka. Her back was to me, and she was busy stirring this, and adding that. Her song finally ended, and I was a bit sad to hear her stop. "You should sing more often, you know. You're pretty good at it."

She went rigid, and slowly turned around to look at me, wide-eyed. Suddenly, I was worried I was going to get a book to the cranium, but she didn't move at all, just laughed sheepishly, a dark blush coloring her cheeks, "Oh, thanks." and turned back to her cooking. Although smirking victoriously, I sighed louder than necessary. "I'm sorry Maka, it was wrong of my to eavesdrop on you. I guess I just couldn't resist."

Still no response. I fidgeted a little. I might have made a huge mistake and shouldn't have mentioned the singing at all, but I couldn't regret it now. I'd just have to change the topic, and hope that wasn't the issue. "So, whats for dinner, then?"

"Curry."

_Gross_. But, I wasn't about to complain. Having Maka cook me something was better than eating out again. So I waited patiently, drumming my fingers against the back of the couch and watching Maka._ ...This is awkward._ She couldn't really be that upset about the singing, could she? She seemed more nervous than upset, anyway. Why was that? I sat and thought about all the possibilities. I was getting a bit too creative, until Maka stopped my daydreaming with a happy chirp of, "It's done!" She set the pot on the table, hurrying around everywhere to get the table set. "I'm going to go get Soul."

When had he come back? I stared flatly at Maka's back, not pleased at all. A dinner with just Maka would have been nice, but I didn't get that luxury, apparently. Maka avoided eye contact with me as she sat down, and Soul did the same, but with a smirk of..satisfaction? Whatever it was, it was rather sinister. He seemed pleased with himself about something. Maka was shooting me nervous glances, and Soul was avoid my eyes and trying, and failing, to hide his occasional laughter.

I finally sighed, and turned to Maka. "Okay, _what_?" It wasn't like her to act this way. She was never nervous. Ever. I stared her down, and she laughed sheepishly, fidgeting with her spoon.

"What do you mean? There's nothing wrong with your face!" She laughed nervously again, and stopped suddenly as she realized what she had suggested. I never said anything about my face feeling weird. Soul burst out laughing, nearly falling off of the couch in his fit. I shot him an icy glare, standing up to find a mirror. What had he done? I heard Maka whisper to him, "Seriously, he's going to kill you." She was probably right, whatever the issue was. I felt fine, my hair seemed to be in order, my clothes were fine... But a glance in the mirror made me inhale sharply. I had a huge black line going from the bottom of my eye to my chin. "MY-" (Almost) "-PERFECT SYMMETRY!" Soul's laughter doubled, and he was howling on the floor. I was a split second away from tackling him and beating him senseless, but Maka grabbed my by the back of my shirt, momentarily strangling me. She threw her book with deadly accuracy, nailing Soul dead in the face. He lay on the floor, blood trickling from his nose. I felt a little better at that sight, but I still had a black line on one side of my face. That was completely unacceptable! I slouched as Maka dragged me to the bathroom, not really caring. "I'm such filth...garbage! You should just throw me out on the curb! I don't deserve to live!" How could I go on, like this? If it was permanent, I would never be able to out in public again!

"Oh, shut up. Crybaby." She grabbed a rag, ran it under water, and began to furiously scrub my face with it.

I yelped, in a completely manly way, I might add,"_Ow_! Maka!"

"Shove it." She jabbed my face with her finger, "If you're going to complain about it, don't bitch when I'm trying to fix it."

Damn. She was being aggressive. Was she PMSing, or sick of my bullshit? Oh, Death, what if she was sick of me? I had blown it, and I had utterly failed, and I didn't even deserve to be with her. My hopes were dashed. "But, even if you fix that, I'll never by symmetrical. These stupid stripes in my hair never go away. I've tried to dye them more times than I can count! I'll still be disgusting!" I failed uselessly, finally giving up.

"If the stripes won't go when you dye them black, dye the rest of your hair white." She raised her eyebrow at me as if it was the obvious thing ever.

"Liz wouldn't let me. Something about killing my hair and getting split ends." I pouted. I had wanted to, but Liz would honestly make me shave my head if I did that, and I was more fond of my hair than the idea of being bald.

"Good. I like the stripes, anyway." _She did_? She finally stopped rubbing my face raw, and let me sit up. "There. Better?"

I scrambled to the mirror, and fawned over it. "So much better!" That disgusting line was gone! Although, I was still going to kick Soul's ass in the near future. I hissed under my breath, "_Bastard_." and turned to my savior. "Well, I'm glad that's over. I suppose we should study, huh?" Now that I was thinking straight, I realized what an idiot I had been a few moments ago.

She looked up at the clock, and shook her head. "No, it's almost 9:30. I don't want Stein to impale you with a scalpel, so you should probably go."

_Oh_. Maybe I really had blown it, after all. "I suppose you're right." I walked with her to the front door, noting that Soul was still out cold. I was ready to step out, when I was struck with inspiration. There was a way to see if I had a chance...

"_When you kiss my no-ose, the feeling shows,"_

I gave her a parting hug. As she smiled and stepped back, I leaned down, planting small kiss on the very tip of her nose. She stared at me, awestruck, a bright red blush on her cheeks. But, she was smiling.

I couldn't keep the smile off my face, and waved to her, "Alright then, bye Maka! See you tomorr-ow~" And stepped out the door before she could respond. "Kid, wait-!" Was all I heard before the door shut. I paused a moment, building up the moment, before re-opening the door, and poked my head in, purring, "Yes?"

There was a pause, and she attacked me, wrapping her arms around my neck, pulling me down and pressing her lips onto mine. Well, that was pleasantly unexpected. I had succeeded after all, it seemed. I kissed her back, closing my eyes, holding her for moment until she stepped away. My eyes re-opened; she was blushing furiously, staring me down, with mixture of determination and embarrassment all over her face. I chuckled at her, she looked so flustered and adorable! "Don't fail that test you idiot."

"After that study session? Never." I really did step out this time, closing the door behind me and pausing for a moment then. I think that was best sign I was going to get that she liked me. And quite frankly, I was okay with that.

* * *

><p><strong>When Maka said, "Shove it," I was so close to having Kid go, "Okay, w<strong>**here?" But I didn't think Kid was that much of a pervert. But I think Kid might end up studying human anatomy a bit more in the future. "Good news, Maka! I aced the reproductive system test!" -Book'd-**

**But really, yeah. The song was "Bubbly" by Colbie Calliat, and it's a great song, if you haven't heard it. I know it isn't up Maka's alley, but it worked really well, and I was inspired when I listened to it. (I think I remember them making fun of her for listening to folk music.)**

**Oh, and I feel the need to clarify this, just in case; Maka is slightly embarrassed by the singing thing, but she's mostly trying to say anything about the marker on Kid's face. But she failed, obviously. **

**Thanks a ton for the reviews, guys! Seriosuly, they mean a lot to me, and I always love reading your comments and ideas! So keep 'em coming!**

**Anyway, my outline is going pretty badly. The only thing I've added to it is, "But Chuck Norris is so manly, his round-house kick turns Maka into a man! And Kid is all like, 'Whoa... No homo.' D: "**

**I'm so good at this! :'D**


	5. Dance with Death: Soul Corrosion?

P_erfect_ S_ymmetry_

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><p><em>(I HAVE NOT given up on that title thing. But really, yes I have.)<em>

**Hmm. I think this story needs a bit of angst. But God, I hate torturing Kid. :c He's so adorable and hasn't done a thing to anyone! (Kind of)**

**A little update on how my plotting is going:**

_**After being turned into a man, Maka and Kid (Especially Kid) are desperate to get Maka to change back into a girl. They discover the perfect way to change her back; To be touched by Justin Bieber. But once that happens, Kid is all like, "You had direct physical contact with Justin Bieber.….Ew."**_

**I had the best dream ever last night. Seriously, Kid and I, Maka, Soul, Black Star and whatever, we were fighting the Kishin, and Black Star goes, "This is Madness!" (Because he's all crazy and whatever, lol) and I stare at him and say, "Madness? THIS! IS! SPARTAAAA!" And kick him down a giant hole. It was pretty sweet.**

**Anyway, before I start this, I just want to mention that I've never read the Manga, simply because I can't afford it at the moment. I would read it online, but I want to support the author :3 So if I say something, and you're all like, "Dude! That totally gets explained in the Manga!" Or, OMG that never happened, WTF!" That's why. It IS a fanfic, after all.**

**...Well then, this is embarrassing, so on to the story!**

* * *

><p>I was standing, standing in a plain of grass; One that I knew too well. The sky was black, and everything seemed to be negative; the grass below my feet was a shining white. I looked around, unsure of the meaning of this place, despite having been here before. I had a sudden chill run down my spine, and instinct told me to turn around.<p>

Standing behind me was a huge beast on all fours, twice my height, with a long black mane, huge wings made of dark feathers, and long horns that curved forward over its head. It stood quietly for a moment, until the silence was broken by the beast's quiet laughter. It seemed to be a kind of dragon. His laugh grew louder and louder, until it shook the world and almost had me falling to the ground.

"Death the Kid." It finally spoke in a low voice that was hardly more than an animalistic growl. "The Shinigami who thinks he can love." It grinned at me, rows of teeth gleaming white against the pitch black of its skin. I recognized this beast- It was the shadowed figure from all the dreams before, bit it was missing something. The shining soul it kept captive was gone.

"What?" _What was that supposed to mean? "Who think he can love?"_ What did this beast know of love, and any I might have?

The dragon scoffed at me, throwing his head and bringing his nose down to my face level. "'_What_?' You know what I mean. The son of Death who sought happiness. Don't you know? Being a reaper is a great power, but everything comes with a price."

I stared the dragon in the eye, and was shocked to find that they were yellow and gold, the same as mine. I looked it over, and realized that it had three sharp, white spikes coming out of one side of it's mane, but not the other. My hand went up to my hair, three white stripes on one side... The smooth black skin of the dragon had white patches on it's shoulders and belly, and I realized that this dragon...was me.

"Do you know what that price is? The price of such great power?" Its lips curled back into a twisted smile, staring me down. It didn't wait for answer, simply continuing, "Tell me, what do you know of your mother?"

I stared it right back, not moving an inch as its hot breath blew into my face. I was hesitant to answer. I didn't trust this beast, but at the same time, I was curious to see what it had to say. "My mother died when I was very young." I remembered none of it, but my father told me that she passed away shortly after I was born.

The beast laughed again, nothing more than small hisses escaping through its teeth, and I clenched my fist. "What's so funny about that?" I shouted at it, striking it in the chin with a kick. As it narrowed its eyes and hissed, I felt an explosion of pain in the very spot where I had kicked the dragon. So, it really _was_ me. But what part? Who was it—was _I—_exactly, and why was a part of _me_ standing here and laughing at, well, me? Was it Madness? No. I had dealt with Madness before, and this was nothing like it. It felt too personal, whereas Madness felt more like a disease.

It shook its head, recovering from the blow, and slammed me to the ground with one of its paws. It had claws that were long, ground razor sharp from clawing at that soul. I lay on my back, pinned under the massive weight of it. I couldn't fight it, because that would only hurt me too. "What the hell do you want?" I snapped at it, grinding my teeth and struggling under its pressure.

"I was you who realized the truth." It showed its sharp teeth to me again, which pissed me off even more.

"What _truth_?"

"The sad, sad truth that everyone who gets too close to a reaper will die. Think about it. Have you ever heard of a Shinigami's bride? A lover? No. No, because they all passed away, just like your mother. "

My eyes widened, and then it dawned on me. The dragon laughed again, loud and echoing, as I was lost in my thoughts. The only thing I could think was, "Maka..." The monster pushed its weight onto me, crushing my chest momentarily, catching my breath and suffocating me, vanishing with a final laugh. I flew upright in my bed, drenched in cold sweat. It had just been a dream—or had it? No, it seemed too real, too deep, to be just a regular dream. why was this reoccurring almost every time I slept? I didn't understand this at all, and the more I thought about it, the more confused I became. I sighed, rubbing my face with my hands. I would have to ask my father about this... but not now. I had to go to school, that test... the test Maka would kill me for if I failed again! _Maka_... Would she really die if I loved her, and if she loved me back? How was that even possible? And what did that dragon have to do with it? Right after I had kissed her..._Damn_. Until I had answers, I had to keep her at a distance. I sighed, and got out of bed. _I need a shower. I'm disgusting._

**-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-**

I hummed happily to myself as Soul and I began the short walk to the academy. I was so ready, so pumped for the big test today! I was going to ace it, and shove it in Ox's stupid face! I grinned, suddenly wanting to get there now. I broke into a run, pumping my legs to go as fast I possibly could.

"Maka! Slow down!" I knew Soul couldn't run as fast as me, but I didn't care much. I was in such a good mood, nothing could have slowed me down. Except, maybe, Kid walking right in front of me. "_Kiiid!"_ With no time to stop myself, I ran straight into him, sending us both tumbling to the concrete. "Ow... Kid! I'm _so_ sorry! I couldn't stop in time! You just came around the corner and—"

"It's fine, Maka, really," he cut me off, with a slight smile. "it was my fault, anyway." His eyes were on mine, but he raised his eyebrows, and looked down. I was on top of him, in a rather compromising position and on his chest, laying right in between his parted legs.

"Oh!" I yelped, and scrambled up, holding out my hand to help him up. He didn't grab it, just stood up off the ground, brushing bits of dirt off of his clothes, straightening it out and making sure it was still symmetrical. _Oh. Okay. Don't mind me, I'm just standing here, holding out my hand for nothing. _I let it fall, stepping forward to straighten his collar, which had flipped up slightly. He avoided eye contact with me, looking instead at Soul, who had finally caught up, panting. "Hello, Soul." He nodded politely, and turned his gaze to me. "Ready to go?" He asked pleasantly.

"Of course!" I marched ahead, Kid and Soul following closely behind. Seriously, was something wrong with Kid? I thought he would be walking next to me, not behind, and with Soul of all people. Wasn't he going to kick his ass or something? Not that I would let him, but still. He was so... quiet and reserved. Normally, that wouldn't seem too odd, but after last night... did he regret it? Did he decide he didn't actually feel that way? I didn't know, but it was bothering me. I turned to look back at him, and he was staring at me. He noticed, and quickly looked away, feigning disinterest. Was he doing it so Soul wouldn't know? He must have been. I sighed, and slowed down, slipping between them. We walked in silence, until we climbed to the top of the stairs that led to the DWMA. "Alright!" My mind drawn back to the test, I pumped my fist victoriously.

"How can you be so excited about a _test_? Tests are so uncool." Soul shrugged, eying me lazily.

"Because I like to do well! It's a measure of how much better I am than last time!"

"You're starting to sound like Black*Star." Kid chimed in, his hands in his pockets.

"...Kid, where are Liz and Patti?" I asked. They needed to take the test, too, right?

"I think they decided to skip. I don't know, really."

Skip? On a test day? Well, they might as well. Patti would probably just fold it into a giraffe or some other quadruped, and Liz would spend the whole time doing her nails or something. Still, it wasn't very responsible of them.

In the classroom, we all took our usual seats. I glanced at the clock at the front of the classroom. Still 15 minutes until it started. I took the time to pull out my textbook and do some last minute studying, but Kid caught my eye. He was looking a bit down, his eyes half closed and staring into space, tapping his pen against the wood of the desk monotonously, as if deep in thought. Seriously, was he alright? I was really starting to get worried. I'd ask him about it after class.

Other students started to file in, sitting around the room and chatting noisily. 8 minutes until the test started. Would Kid actually pass? I had never looked at where he usually ranked, although I knew it wasn't good. He tended to coast on the excuse that he didn't really _have_ to pass anything. Since he was, you know, the Grim Reaper's son. But that, to me, wasn't a legitimate excuse.

I sat in silence, half-listening to the mindless chatter around me, thinking about the test, and Kid. Every glance I took, he was doing the same thing. He finally looked up when the professor told everyone to sit down and shut up, that the test was starting.

Papers were distributed, and I scribbled my name at the top, and began reading the questions. _Easy, easy, easy._I finished in no time at all, one hundred percent confident in my answers. I risked a glance around. It looked like almost everyone else was working, besides Ox. He was done, and looking rather pleased with himself. I quietly hummed with irritation, and flipped my test over. There was nothing to do now but wait. Out of the initial hour, there were twenty minutes left.

I took the time to wonder just why Kid failed every test. He didn't study, but he was smart. There was no reason for him not to know the material. Did he just choose not to do it? What was his problem? I mulled over it for a good ten minutes, but after exhausting my theories and ideas, I gave up and began to sketch lazily on the back of my test.

I was no artist, and everything I tried to draw was scratchy and didn't make much sense. When time was called, even I had no idea what it was anymore. I think it had started as a doodle of a dog, but had ended up with what looked like a horn coming out its head, severe constipation, and a bad bought of mange. Whatever.

The tests were collected, and I stood up, stretching. My back popped, and I sighed with relief. It was nice to stand after being hunched over for so long. Much to my surprise, neither Black*Star nor Soul had been yelled at or disqualified for any reason. I couldn't help but feel a little bit of pride. They were _learning_!

The bell rang, dismissing the class. Soul waited for me to make my way through the crowd over to him, Black*Star sitting on the desk behind him, Tsubaki shyly standing behind him. Kid still sat, resuming his pen tapping once more.

"Well, Kid, how did it go?" I sat down on the desk next to him, watching the pen click the desk. He held it under his middle finger, and over his pointer, raising it up and letting it fall.

"...Just fine." He didn't change his motion or look at me. Either way, he didn't sound very confident. I wondered just how badly that meant he had done, when he stood up. "I have to go. I'll be back sooner or later." And with that, he simply got up, and walked out.

"Man, he's being a downer today." Soul observed, keeping his eyes on the departing Kid for moment.

"God, I know! It's kind of irritating." Black*Star brought Soul's attention back to the group, and I stood in silence. No kidding, why was he acting like that? It wasn't like him.

**-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-**

I was in no mood to talk to anyone after the test. I had started it in a foul temper, and the fact that I barely finished writing my name by the time it was over didn't help. On top of that, now I had to go talk to my father about his least favorite subject. Mom. The one he had avoided for years.

I walked down the hallway to the Death Room, wondering how to go about starting this conversation. If I didn't say it just right, he'd dance around the question until I got too frustrated to handle any more. I stepped quickly into the white room, my father was talking through the mirror to someone. I walked up the platform, and waited. The conversation (which had something to do with a witch) was quickly ended, and my father turned to me.

"Hey hey Kiddo! What's up?" He bounced over to me, chipper as usual.

"I just wanted to ask you a few questions, is all." I hated that he always wore a mask. I could never see his face, or what was going on behind it.

"Alright, Kiddo. Whatever you need." He tilted sideways, seemingly willing to answer whatever I had to ask.

"I just want to know how exactly Mom died." I stared him down, not faltering or blinking as seconds ticked by without an answer.

"Your mother?" And so the dance began.

"Yes, my mother. That's what I just said." I couldn't get irritated with him going in circles around me. That's how he avoided answering questions he didn't want people to know the answers of. Sheer annoyance.

"Hmmm..." There was another long pause, followed by a sigh from him. "Well, no point in hiding it. In complete honesty, she died of a mysterious illness just a few days after you were born." Huh, a straight answer from my father. I never thought I'd see the day.

_A mysterious illness. _"Why? Explain this illness to me." If Maka was ever showing signs of getting it, I was going to have to leave immediately. I didn't to risk her safety for any reason.

"Well, we don't know much. What we do know is that the soul of someone who spends too much time in close proximity to a Reaper will gradually face soul decay. A Reaper's wavelength has a corroding effect; The other person's soul simply comes under so much stress, it cracks, and the victim is left nothing more than a hollow shell. Those with no will to live don't live long at all." He hummed quietly, and paused.

Their Soul would decay? "But Father, Spirit, Stein, and Sid all spend so much time in your presence, why haven't their souls faced decay?" If a Reaper's wavelength did that to them, the years spent by his side should have corroded their souls to nothing.

"Hmmm..." He paused, created a long silence between us. "They don't spend enough time with me for the corrosion to add up. It takes near constant contact for Soul Decay to happen quickly, otherwise it takes years to add up, more than a human's lifespan is anyway. And since Spirit and the like aren't sleeping next to me or anything, they can avoid prolonged contact. Other than that...I don't know all the answers." He stood, still as a statue. Not a word was said, the only sound in the room was the echo of my heavy breathing. The mirror chimed, a call for him to answer. Great, I really wasn't going to get anywhere. But with a wave of his hand, he dismissed it. Was he allowed to do that? "Your mother lived for nine months. After that, her soul was finally too worn for her to keep living while she was under constant contact from a Reaper's soul. I imagine Miss Albarn has about a year, then."

A year? I wasn't spending every minute of the day with her, so did I have even longer, then? But, maybe in the future...I couldn't say for sure, and I didn't want to find out the hard way. Those close to my father still had souls intact; Had he found a way to stop his wavelength from affecting those around him as well? How did he do it? I had to find a way as well, and do it fast. Did it have something to do with the way my father soul was bound to the city, that those around him were affected less? It must have. But that didn't explain why my mother had passed away because of it. _Was her soul...weak?_ No, I would never believe that.

But Maka...she had the right to know that staying by me would cause her soul to corrode. But would she stay? Would she be afraid of me? It wasn't something I wanted to happen, but dragging it out would only make it hurt more. But I was too selfish for that right now. I would tell her, eventually. I had months to tell her. either that, or find something to stop the corrosion.

"Thank you, Father. I'm sorry to make you talk about the subject. I know you don't enjoy it." I bowed to him, breaking the long pause that filled the room.

"It needed to be done. You had to know sooner or later." He waved a hand at me as I left, still thinking about what had been discussed. The dragon had been right, those too close to a Reaper would die, but maybe there was a way to fix it. I had barely stepped out of the detah room and back into the normal hallways of the DWMA, when I heard someone shouting my name.

"Kid! Kiiid!" I recognized the voice, it was Black*Star. He was racing up to me, stopping just in time to huff out, "You better run! She's on a war path! She's going to _kill_ you!"

I froze. _Shit_. _Maka_. I had failed that test earlier today miserably._ Damn that 'K'! _I picked up my pace to a run, heading for the exit, I could hide from her until she calmed down, but where? She knew where I lived! I shuddered at the thought of one of her huge books cracking open my skull. It was school, she had her large, hard-covered textbooks. The doors of the school were in sight, if I could get outside, I could use the Beelzebub to get away faster.

I had literally stepped one foot out the door, when I was grabbed by the back of my collar, a practice Maka was become used to. I urked, momentarily strangled, and stumbled backward.

"YOU IDIOT!"

_crapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrap!_

"Not only did you fail, you got a zero. A ZERO. Did you even answer _any_ of the questions?" She had stepped in front of me, glaring up at me. Even for her small size, she could really be scary. Especially with a book in her hand.

"W-well, I...I...No, but I couldn't just leave the 'K' the way it was! It was so imperfect! It bothered me!" I pleaded with her, hoping she would at least take pity on me and not hit me with all her strength. The blow I was expecting never came, and I blinked at her. She was staring, dumbfounded.

"You spend an hour writing your name? And you only got "Death-the?"

"Basically, yes."

"Maka, you should just be happy he didn't pass out like last time." Soul chuckled as he walked up from behind me, flashing those pointed teeth at her.

I grimaced at that memory. It was just...so stressful! I couldn't handle it. 'K' was such a stupid letter. It was an abomination of the alphabet, really.

Maka stood silently for a moment, looking from Soul to me. "Wow." She raised her book, and I squeezed my eyes shut in expectation of getting hit. The book very lightly tapped the top of my head. I opened my eyes in surprise and looked down at her. She was smiling now. "You idiot." She insulted me, but said it fondly. "If it's that big of a deal, have someone else do it? Or, even better, learn to do it quickly." She let the book fall to her side.

"...I'll try. But I'm not making any promises, and don't hit me if I fail because of it."

"Hmm..."

"Maka, promise."

"Alright! I promise. No more hitting you!" She laughed, although I didn't see what was so funny. Pain _hurt_. It was basic, really.

"Hey, what do I have to do to make you promise to stop hitting me?" Soul interjected, pouting next to me.

"I really don't think there's anything you can do." She shrugged, avoiding his eye contact. "I need to hit _someone_."

"Why does that have to be me? So uncool." He let out a small 'tsk', and sauntered off. "I'm gonna play ball with Black*Star."

"See ya later, Soul!" Maka waved to him, although he wasn't turned around to see the gesture. I watched him go, until my gaze drifted to her, smiling so pleasantly. I had a pang of guilt, seeing her._ I'm killing her, by just standing here. _But for now, she didn't have to know. I returned her smile, and offered to walk her home. She accepted, and we set off down the steps. Although we walked wordlessly, it wasn't an awkward silence. We walked slowly, side by side with her on my right, through the streets of Death City.

I looked up at the buildings as we walked down the streets, and I could only admire how perfectly symmetrical they were. Death City was truly a beautiful place. These were the kinds of things I thought about, until I caught her looking at me. No, not my face, but lazily watching my hand. I held it out, turning my palm up. She looked up at me, seeming unsure, but placed her hand in mine, and smiled.

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><p><strong>Does the whole theory of 'Soul Corrosion' make sense? I changed it a little, and it's not as solid as it used to be, especially since there are details I don't want out yet... I just hope it's a concept every one can grasp. <strong>

**Being around Kid = Maka's soul getting corroded away, which will lead to her death. 'Kay?**


	6. A Chance Encounter in the Library

P_erfect _S_ymmetry_

**Before I start, I want to say THANK YOU to _Cookie Monster Gurl _for helping me refine my plot and contributing ideas! Seriously, I owe you one.**

**Also, if you haven't seen it, Pockyrock on Deviantart has a great Soul Eater meme floating around, and I filled it out. But as always, I can't draw people, so I did it with mostly dragons. ^^' and the sketches are a bit rough.**

**http:/atrumlupusluna*deviantart*com/#/d4a5ppy If you want to check it out, replace the *'s with .'s. If you can draw, do it. Or even if you can't, try it anyway?**

**Anyway, on to the fanfic that I've been neglecting all weekend in favor of Caribou and the "GRAB MY-" meme~**

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><p>I watched Kid's hand with almost embarrassing intensity, wondering whether or not to take hold of it. Did he want me to? He had been the one to kiss me first, so I didn't see why it was a big deal. But still, I was nervous, for whatever reason. I felt like it was still too soon... I didn't even realize I had been caught staring until Kid turned his hand, palm up. In a moment of stupidity, I looked up at him, unsure of what he wanted. Did he want me to give- <em>Oh<em>! Right. I took his hand, intertwining my fingers with his, and smiled. It felt so _right_. I had held Souls' hand before on occasion, but it didn't feel like this did. So it wasn't too soon after all, it seemed.

He walked me home, hand in hand. He always grimaced a bit at the sight of our apartment, but didn't make a comment. Usually he was so outright about things being asymmetrical, so was he holding it in for me? I did like our apartment quite a lot. At least he thought it was clean. "Well, Maka, this is it." He smiled softly, though he still held onto my hand.

"Thanks for walking me home Kid." I didn't really want to, but I let his hand go, which he let fall to his side. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"It was my pleasure, Maka. Tomorrow, it's a date." He waved as he started to leave, pausing a moment to mutter something to himself. He took a left, and started down the street.

"Kid! You have to go _right_ to get to your house!"

"_Damn_!" He turned around and walked past again, actually going the correct way this time. Who knew he was so directionally retarded?

It was a bit cute, actually, and I couldn't help but laugh at him. I entered the apartment complex, climbing up the the top floor. I fumbled with the keys to the loft a bit, but unlocked our door, and stepped inside. It was so plain, and I realized that I had nothing to do.

_I should have gone somewhere with Kid..._Oh well, too late for that now. I didn't want to make him come all the way back to my apartment, although I was sure he wouldn't have a problem with it, I'd feel bad if he got lost. I fell back onto our couch, staring at the ceiling and thinking.

_Kid likes me, and I like Kid. Does that mean we're together? We did hold hands the whole way home. _I smiled, and said to no one in particular, "I think it does." with a satisfied smile.

The next day, I checked over the mission board with Soul, looking for one that wouldn't be too difficult, yet at the same time, not too easy. "Soul, how about this one?" I pointed to one detailing disappearances of researchers in Siberia.

"Sure, that's cool." He shrugged lazily, the epitome of indifference. "Who are we bringing with? We need a partner for it."

"A partner? Who better than the amazing Black*Star!" As if on cue, he raced up to us, Tsubaki following not far behind.

"Yeah!" Soul gave him a high-five, and turned to me. "Let's bring Black*Star with! We haven't gone on a mission together in forever!"

_Ugh_. I wanted to say no, but I couldn't. Soul and Black*Star were friends, and as much as he annoyed me, he really was a good fighter, and a loyal team mate, even if we got into spats sometimes. I was planning on asking Kid, but this would have to work. It wasn't like this was the last mission we'd ever go on, anyway. "Alright. Let's report to Lord Death, then."

**-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-**

I sat cross-legged on my bed, staring at no particular spot on the wall across from me. _Maka seemed so happy...She wouldn't feel that way if she knew what being around me could do. Losing her very soul... _My thoughts had been like this since I had left her at her apartment. "That's why I got lost again. I was distracted." Obviously, that was why. Either way, I finally gave up, and decided to sleep. I had a lot to do tomorrow, and it would take the kind of focus only a night's rest could give. With a sigh, I turned onto my stomach, crossing my arms burying my face in the pillow. For once in my life, I really hated being a Reaper.

It took me a while to fall asleep, as my thoughts wouldn't leave me alone. But when I finally did, I was back in the negative meadow, face to face with the dragon.

"So, you aren't going to give up, are you?" It sat, tail swishing back and forth, flattening the grass below it. It had that cruel twisted smile on its face again, looking down on me, judging me. "Kid, Kid. She's been serious about you for a _day_. You're already willing to do anything for this girl, who could have a change of heart and leave at any moment, when she realizes the one she wants is Soul and not you?" The grin faded, and it lowered to my level. "You're pathetic. You're supposed to be a mighty Reaper, yet here you are, on your knees for someone you know you can never be with. You're killing her, Kid."

"No, you're wrong." This stupid reptile, I hated the way it smiled at me, I hated the way it spoke to me so condescendingly, and I especially hated the way it had 3 spikes on one side of its neck and not the other. "You're wrong, and you're an idiot to think you can convince me otherwise. Maka wouldn't do something like that, she doesn't feel that way about Soul."

"An idiot? But Kid, you and I are one in the same. You don't consider yourself a fool, do you?" His eyes narrowed at me, "Why are you so sure of this girl? Humans are fickle things. Worthless, really." It drew back in disgust, eyes directed at nothing, lip curling up to show its teeth as he spoke. "She thought the same thing of you not long ago."

"Shut up!" His attention was brought back to me, but really I was at a loss. He was absolutely right. I just had to have faith in Maka. But still..."If you're a part of me, why do you keep fighting me?"

"Why am I fighting you? That's a good question. The answer is simple, really. You're an idiot for not figuring it out yet."

Wait, calling me an idiot was calling himself an idiot, too. For a moment, I had to just think about that. "Hypocrite."

He realized his mistake with a small snort, which quickly turned into a loud snarl that ripped out of his chest. "You little punk. Stop being so naïve, I can _feel_ myself getting dumber." He picked up a paw, rubbing it on his chest and staring at his claws intently. "If you can stay focused for two seconds, we can have a serious discussion. I swear, you have the attention span of a house fly."

I couldn't even respond. This part of me was being absolutely ridiculous. Changing the subject, insulting me, and talking in circles. "Hurry up and say what you want! I'm tired of this!"

"Huh? Oh, right. Well, I already told you everything I had to say."

How had this conversation gone downhill so fast? He had finished talking to me seriously a long time ago, and now he was just being an asshole. Seriously, if this guy was a part of me, what part was it? I had to stop and scratch my head at him. Damn, this was weird.

The dragon let out a long sigh, letting himself fall onto his stomach. "You're boring. Will you just quit chasing that girl and go away? It's going to end badly, no matter what." The beast had started drawing in the grass with a claw, scratching out what looked to be...Liz? "Look at her! She's hot, she's loyal, and she won't have her soul eaten away by your wavelength." Looking quite pleased with itself, the dragon looked up at me, only to be brought back down to the drawing. "No, her eyebrow is off. That isn't symmetrical..." It mumbled to itself, attempting to fix the drawing.

"I think I know what you are now." I crossed my arms, staring at his drawing. "You're the wavelength. The part of my soul that belongs to the Death family. All you've done is shaped yourself to be a part of me." That's why it was the beast dragging it's claws over Maka's soul. He alone was responsible for the decay. But how could I stop him? He was a part of my soul.

"_Finally_." The beast snorted loudly, obviously relieved. "Yes, I'm the embodiment of your Reaper heritage. I've been passed on through the ages, from father to son, from Lord Death to You, his son." He tapped a claw on the ground, heaving itself up onto all fours again. "I've witnessed the soul decay again and again, but you're the first one who hasn't given up! It's not going to end well for you, Death the Kid."

My eyes opened to the sun streaming into my room through a window, shining directly on my eyelids. It was so damn bright... I rubbed my eyes, and sighed. I needed to do some research. There _had_ to be a way to stop the Soul Corrosion.

I had planned on being out the door and to the academy by 8 am, but it took me nearly an hour to get my damn hair to cooperate and be symmetrical, then my pants had a wrinkle on one side, and not the other, so that wouldn't do. I had to iron them, and why not the rest of them as well?

It was nearly noon by the time I walked into the academy with Liz and Patti. Class was going to start soon, but I had no interest in that. It seemed that Maka, Soul, Black*Star and Tsubaki were missing. _A mission, probably._ Damn, I was so late, I didn't even get to say good-bye. The day seemed like it would never end. Stein droned on as the clock ticked. I tapped my pen on the wood of the desk, waiting and waiting. I needed to get into the library. Class was finally dismissed, and I left the sisters to escape.

Once in the library, I scanned the shelves for books on Souls, on Reapers, on anything that might be useful. By the time I had finished, I had a hoard of at least twenty books to look through. I sighed. This might end up being an all-nighter, but I had to start somewhere. I flipped through four books, finding nothing but useless information and things I already knew.

"Hey, do you mind if I sit here? Everywhere else is taken." I looked up from my book, eying the girl who had spoken in a heavy Scandinavian accent. She was a heavier girl, with waist length aqua green hair she kept up in a ponytail. I recognized her from class, but had no idea what her name was.

"No, I don't mind." I knew she was a meister, and her weapon was a brunette boy who never seemed to do anything, but that was about it.

"Thanks!" She set her book down, and began to read. She was so quiet, I forgot she was even there after a while.

Several books later, I was beginning to give up. I decided to check one last book, although a bit lazily. I flicked through pages, not really reading at all, just looking at pictures, until something caught my eye.

"_The witch Artemis; responsible for the creation of the Soul protect technique widely known by witches today-"_

The witch who created the Soul Protect technique... If I recalled, it was a technique that repressed the wavelength of a witches soul, keeping it confined to prevent them from being detected. Could that be the answer? Could something like the witch's Soul Protect keep my wavelength from eroding a soul? It definitely seemed like a possibility, but I'd have to learn more about it.

"_Artemis specializes in the study of Souls, as well as their wavelengths. She only is responsible for nearly every major discovery on Souls, wavelengths, and resonance."_

That was is, then. I was going to pay the Witch Artemis a visit. But...would that work at all? A witch wasn't exactly going to want to work with a DWMA member like myself... But maybe she could be bribed. Most witches could. What would be better for a Witch who studies souls than the chance to play with one that belonged to a Grim Reaper? If she valued her research, she wouldn't pass a chance like that up.

"_Artemis is not considered an enemy of the DMWA, being that she spends most of time in solitude, and has not been considered a threat. In fact, she's contributed much of the information she knows to the world." _

She seemed to be willing to help the academy, but still, there was no way to be sure she wouldn't try and kill me. It was a risk I was willing to take, though. Now the only thing left was to find where this witch was.

"_Despite the DWMA's attempts to find her, they have been unsuccessful for more than a century; it is known, however, that she often resides on the island of Svalbard. It is believed her castle is there as well."_

"Svalbard?" I looked closer at the book. That was is, but it had no map, no indication of where the island was. "Where the hell is that?"

The girl sitting at the table across from me perked up at the mention of the island. "Whatcha need in Svalbard?" she looked up from her book at me, head tipped.

"I need to know where it is, but this book doesn't say." I groaned in irritation. Time to find an atlas.

"Svalbard is a part of good old Norway!" She closed her book, beaming. "That's where I'm from, actually! Whatcha be need there?"

So, this girl was not only from the country is was in, but the island itself? A massive coincidence, but an extremely helpful one. "There's a certain witch living there, and I'm going to hunt her down." The girl let out a small hum, touching one of her fingers to her bottom lip. "Well, I think I can help that."

"Really?"

"Yup! Certainly!" She pulled out her cell phone, and clicked a few buttons. "Before I came here, I had a friend. She said she knew a few witches from the country, maybe the one you after is one o' them." She pressed the phone to her ear, and waited. _Should she be doing that in the library?_ The other line picked up, "Hallo! Ahliera!" She began to speak in rapid Norwegian into the phone, starting with "Hei! Freya!" starting with a long string of words I was clueless about. I heard my name mentioned a few times. The girl on the other end of the call must have spoke loudly, since I could hear her from where I was sitting, though I couldn't understand it. Ahli paused for a moment to hold the phone away from her ear and ask, "Which witch?"

"Artemis."

She repeated it into the phone, followed by a long pause. Suddenly, the girl on the other end of the line started talking rapidly, in an overly excited tone. She ended with a long, girly squeal, and a question I didn't understand.

"Takk! Jeg lover han er søt!" With that, she hung up. "Well, Death the Kid, I've arranged for you to meet my friend, Freya, on Svalbard. She'll bring ya' to the witch, she says."

I couldn't believe it. Really, I couldn't. Why did this student and her friend agree to help me? I didn't even know her name until a few minutes ago. "Thank you for your help, I really appreciate it. But why? What's in this for you?"

She looked at my with her soft gray eyes, confusion covering her face. "The whole point of the DWMA is to get rid of evil things like witches, right? I'm just doing my part." She stated it as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Why your friend, then? Is she a part of the academy?"

"Well, no. But she said that witch had been a bother to her and her family for a while now. She's like to see her gone." Well, unfortunately for her friend, I had no intention of killing Artemis. But, she didn't have to know that, did she? Although Ahliera might give me a load of crap for it later on, it had to be done. For Maka's sake.

"When do I need to be on Svalbard?"

"Tomorrow evening. Make sure you bring a gun! Those Polar Bears there are nasty!"

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><p><strong>Hmm, THE PLOT THICKENS. This chapter is lacking in fluff, but it's important to the plot. Sorry! I promise I'll add some more relationship crap in the next few chapters. Also, this is where OC's will start to pop up. But, most of them are relatively minor, and there won't be any relationships involving an OC. <strong>

**This chapter is kind if scatterbrained, since it's late and I need to get a lot of things covered in this story. T^T**

**Also, WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT RUN THAT NORWEGIAN THROUGH GOOGLE TRANSLATE! D (lol, it might translate wrong, since I used it too. I know German, not Norwegian!) I also have no idea what a Norwegian accent sounds like, exactly, or what words they use a lot, so pretend you know when you read Ahli and Freya's talking. (I almost used a Minnesotan accent, but I don't think Norway is well known for saying "You betcha!" all the time.)**

**Thanks SO much for all the reviews on Chapter 5! It's so awesome to hear from you guys! It's my favorite part of writing this fic, actually. To hear what you have to say. So keep it coming! I love all of you!**


	7. Freya's Lead: A Castle Beneath the Snow

P_erfect_ S_ymmetry_

**This time I actually don't have much to say at all. Surprised?**

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><p>"Kid, is this really a good idea?"<p>

"No, probably not."

"Then why are we flying half way to the north pole to meet up with someone you don't even know to lead you to a witch who could very well kill us? I mean, I like Maka a lot, but is this overkill, maybe?" Liz had been talking like this since I told her what we were doing the night before. "I mean, to block your wavelength, is that really the only way?"

No, probably not. But it was the only lead I had at the moment, and maybe it was a good way to get started, or maybe it would even work.

"You know, when witches use Soul Protect, they can't use magic. Is that going to keep you from resonating with us?"

"It might, but we'll have to see. I know about as much as you do, Liz." The island of Svalbard was getting closer and closer by the minute, and soon enough, I could see the small patch of red that signified the research base we were supposed to use as a rendezvous point with Freya. Ahliera hadn't told me much about her, simply saying, "You'll know her when you see her."

The island was a literal frozen wasteland. As I landed the Beelzebub and looked around, all I could see what an endless plain of white, with a few black rocks poking through. The sun was two-thirds through the sky, and the starting of sunset was streamed parallel to the sea. There was nothing to do now but wait.

Liz and Patti returned to human form, and out of boredom, Patti decided to make a snowman, while Liz sat down next to me, shivering in her parka. "Damn, it's cold." The wind was slight, but there, and although Patti seemed to be immune, Liz wasn't the only one freezing.

"Tell me about it. I hope Freya hurries up."

"All done!" I turned to see Patti's snowman, which looked more like a snow mutant, with no discernible body or head. "Isn't he cute?"

"Yes, Patti. Adorable. Why don't you give him eyes, or something?" Liz had turned to, about as enthralled with the snowman as I was.

"Nah, he doesn't need 'em!" She continued to pat snow for a while. I was starting to think Freya would never show, until Patti perked up and said, "Hey, do you guys hear that?"

Liz looked at her, confused. "Hear what?" She paused, and furrowed her brows. "Yeah, I can hear it! What is it?"

I listened closely, until the sound became clear. It was the small _cling-tink-cling _of...bells? "That must be Freya!" Sure enough, with a bit of focus, I could see a small figure heading towards us from the horizon. "Freya! Over heeeere!"

"HEEEII! KID!" The woman picked up her pace, and in a few short minutes I could clearly see (and hear) her. Her hair was short, shoulder length at the longest part. It started white, but the closer to the tips it got, the more of a dark tan color it became. She had two red ribbons tied into them, which hung over her large tan coat, lined with white fur. With snow pants to match, stuffed into black boots that looked to be larger than mine. But the oddest part about her was the belt of bells that was wrapped around her waist, chiming and clocking together with every step she took. She skidded to a halt in front of us, cheeks red and beaming. "Finally! I've been running all day!" Her accent was thicker than Ahli's, her tone going up and down with every vowel. She clapped her black-gloved hands together, satisfied with herself.

For having run all day, she seemed just fine. She wasn't panting, or even breathing heavily. I dismissed 'running all day' as an exaggeration, but the fact that she had come here on foot was still impressive. "Hello, Freya."

"Jeez! It took you long enough! We've been waiting here _forever_!" Patti huffed, standing in front of the heavily dressed girl. Compared to Patti, Freya was monstrously tall.

"Patti, stop it!" Liz reached forward to gather her sister, pulling her back. Liz only came up our escort's shoulders.

Freya simply laughed at Patti, smiling all the while. She turned to me, smiling."Are you guys ready to go?"

I nodded. "Are we going on foot?" She had no means of other transportation with her. Was she really thinking we'd walk through the snow to get there? I could use the Beelzebub, but while it could carry two people, it wouldn't handle a girl of her size.

"I guess so." She looked me over, tipping her head and stamping her boot into the snow. "Seeing as you've got no alternative."

"Oh, no. I've got something." I held out my hand, and in a puff of smoke, I was holding the skateboard in my arm.

She stared at me for a moment, eyebrow raised. "You're going to...skateboard across the snow? Are you serious?"

"this isn't an ordinary skateboard. Liz, Patti?"

"Right!" They changed into weapon form, Freya watching curiously as I let the skateboard fall, floating a few inches above the ground.

"Oooh! Neat!" She jumped up and down happily, her bells chiming loudly. "How fast does it go?"

"Fast enough, I'm sure."

"Well, we'll see." She grinned, a white cloud appearing where we had been standing. "Are you sure you'll be able to keep up?" The cloud dissipated, and where a woman once stood, a caribou was now pawing the ground anxiously. _So, she's a magic animal._ Her belt of bells was hanging around her neck like a collar, red ribbons tied to the base of her antlers, and most notably, a pair of large, perfectly symmetrical antlers adorned her head.

"Such perfect symmetry! Absolutely flawless!" I couldn't believe it, everything about this deer was absolutely, flawlessly symmetrical! The horns curved and pointed in all the same places, not a spot of mismatched color anywhere! It was...so beautiful...

"What?" Freya tipped her head, bells jingling.

Liz sighed, explaining to Freya that, "It's an obsession of his. Just ignore it. Kid, pay attention! We have to find that witch! For Maka!"

Oh, right! The witch, and Maka. I needed to stay focused. However beautifully symmetrical the antlers were, the witch was more important.

She let out a loud snort, and pawed the ground again. "O_kay_, whatever. Let's go!" She reared up, bringing her hooves down on the ground, breaking into a sprint. She snorted and grunted as she ran, her breath freezing into small clouds. The bells rang loudly, creating a rhythmic '_cha-ching cha-ching'_ as she ran.

With the Beelzebub, keeping up was easy enough. We had been going for nearly half an hour, and Freya hadn't let up at all. _Talk about stamina. _

"Freya, isn't this island known for it's large population of polar bears? We haven't even seen a hint of one yet." I looked around, not seeing hide or hair of the things. It may have been a pure-white landscape, but a big-ass bear would be a bit hard to miss.

"Yes, it is. But it's November, so they're all hibernating. Which is good for you, if they weren't, finding Artemis would be damn near impossible." She kept looking straight ahead as she spoke, almost yelling instead of talking. She was loud, that was for sure. "When the polar bears are up and about, she spends most of her time with them, and it's impossible to tell her apart from any other bear."

"Well, I'm glad I came when I did, then. But Freya, why are you willing to help me find her? Ahliera said she was a thorn in your side. Why is that?"

She was silent for a moment, as if thinking about her answer. "Well, a long time ago, one of my great-grandfathers made a deal with her. She would offer him a piece of her magic power, in return for his service as an animal. So really, I guess you could say me and my family have been her slaves for generations. No one else has done anything, but I'm sick of it. If she needs a guinea pig, it's always one of us."

That made sense. To do research, you needed subjects. For the DWMA to not consider her a nuisance, she needed lab rats that weren't going to be noticed. What better than a family in debt to you? "I'm sorry to hear that, Freya."

"No! But it's almost over now, since you're hear to kill the witch!" She took a leap, jumping over a snow pile in her happiness.

"Well, not exactly."

Freya skidded to a halt, sending up a cloud of snow. _Shit._

"What? You _lied_ to Ahli? You lied to _me_? After I agreed to_ help_ you?" She snorted loudly, throwing her head. "Well, if that's the case, you can find her on your own!" She whipped around, preparing to take off in the opposite direction.

"No Freya – Wait!" I turned the Beelzebub around, hovering in front of her. "I can–" She interrupted me with a loud bray, lowering her head and pawing the ground.

"You cheat, you liar!" She thrust her head upwards, horns catching the bottom of my skateboard and flipping me into the snow.

"Damn it, Freya! Listen to me!" If she would stop for two seconds, we could work something out, but no, she absolutely refused to listen to me. She was a reindeer, though, so that should be expected.

She pinned her ears back, head lowered again. "Why would I listen to filth like you?"

"Because I can still help you!" I pushed myself out of the snow, standing up to face her. Even at my full height, she towered over me. "I'm looking for Artemis to make a deal with her. If my offer is good enough, I'll ask her to let you and your family free as one of my requirements!"

Her eyes narrowed, nostrils flared, letting out a loud puff as she lifted her head. "Fine. But if you go back on your word this time, I'll kill ya'. I don't care who you are." She turned around, making sure to kick snow in my face as she began to walk through the snow. "Hurry up, it isn't far now."

"Sorry about that, you two, ended up in the snow." I picked up Liz and Patti, who laughed sarcastically.

"No, K-Kiddo, it's just fine! We aren't made of freezing m-metal or anything!" She snapped at me,

"I said I was sorry!" I hopped back onto the skateboard, and we took off again. Eventually, Freya slowed down and came to a stop, facing a large dune of snow. "This is it."

Really? All it was was a huge hill of snow that looked exactly identical to the rest of them. Was she still mad at me, and planned on leaving me here in the middle of nowhere?

She took another step forward, lowering her head. She started off slowly shaking her head back and forth, picking up speed until the bells echoed through the valleys of snow. It was incredibly loud. "Are you trying to start an avalanche or something?"

"Yup!" She stamped her feet, finishing her ringing with a loud, low grunt that vibrated through the snow. At first it seemed nothing at all had happened, until a chunk of snow of the hill cracked, and gave way, falling down the hill with a thunder-like crash. After the first bit fell, more and more of the snow flaked off and fell to the bottom of the hill, until it looked like a full-blown avalanche. A huge cloud of snow was kicked up, and I had to shield my face from the gusts it created. Freya turned to look at me, breathing heavily. "There it is." She began to trot forward, towards a newly revealed hole in the mountainside. "Artemis's castle." She didn't wait for me, just pressed forward. She occasionally sunk through the thick new layer of snow, snorting and pulling herself out, only to fall in again with the next step. It was a slow process, but she finally reached the mouth of the ice cave.

"There. Go in and set me free, or die trying you little bastard." She grunted, and collapsed to her stomach, breathing heavily.

"Freya! Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, just tired." She tossed her head, beckoning me inside. I stepped off the skateboard, with vanished with a small pop, and began the descent into the castle under the snow.

It seemed to go down for miles, and I found myself sliding down most of the way, tripping in the slippery ice. Finally, it opened up into a huge room, walls made of glittering ice and snow. Stalactites of frozen water hung down, glimmering without light. And in the middle of the room, on a raised platform of ice covered in furs, was a pile of blankets and pelts.

"Artemis!" My words echoed loudly through the room, repeating themselves a few times before finally fading away. The pile stirred, and a the covers fell away from a woman, who propped herself up on one hand, rubbing an eye and yawning loudly.

"What, spring already?" She looked around a bit, until her gaze fell on me. She gasped, and snatched a polar bear's pelt, with head and paws still attached, and wrapped it around herself. "Who are you? How did you get here?"

"That isn't important." I took a step forward, which didn't bring me much closer to the witch in the expansive room, but still added a nice effect. "What is important is that you know so much about souls. I'm Death the Kid, son of Death himself, and I'm here to strike a bargain."


	8. Snow White Witch: Artemis

P_erfect_ S_ymmetry_

**I'm going to post chapters 7 and 8 at the same time~ **

**Use your imagination for the rest of the castle, okay?**

**Oh, and another thing I want to ask you: do all witches have to be evil?**

**(The answer is no.)**

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><p>"The son of Death, here to strike a bargain with me? What for?" The woman stood up, letting the blankets fall, only keeping a bear's skin wrapped around herself. She had been sleeping in a long, silken robe, pale blue in color that fell to her knees. She looked around, and picked up her hat, which had been lying on the floor behind her. She set it on her head, and watched me, unblinking, with drooping eyes that reminded me of Soul's. The hat was a yellow-tinted white, with a cartoon-ish bear's face on the front. Artemis herself had long, curling hair of the same color, that stopped abruptly at her waist. Her skin was ghostly white, aside from a two long streaks of charcoal above her eyes. Her lips were painted black, and when she turned up her hands to run her eyes again, her palms were just as dark. I had a hunch the bottoms of her feet were the same way.<p>

"You excel in research on Souls, right?"

"Yup, that's me," she yawned loudly again, "but that's not hard to figure out. I want to know how you found this place. Seriously." Her drooping eyes bored into mine, and she walked forward, tip-toeing down the steps of her resting platform. She was tall, though not as tall as Freya, but a bit overweight. She let out a small hum as she stopped in front of me. "So, what was this bargain you had in mind, Death the Kid?" She blinked twice, watching me with half-lidded eyes. "Hurry up, I'm tired. I want to go back to sleep. It's not spring yet."

"Alright, I'll get to the point then. I have a Reaper's Soul. Wouldn't that be a fun thing for you to research?"

She hummed again, opening her eyes a bit wider. "Yes, yes it would. But I know you're not here to give yourself to me. What do you want?"

"Knowing as much about souls as you do, I'm sure you know the effect of a Reaper's soul on a regular human's. The Soul Decay. What I want is for you to find a way to stop that from happening."

"Oooh, that sounds like fun." her lips tugged up into a slight smile, and she looked fully interested in me now. "Is that all?"

"No, I want you to release Freya and her family from your debt."

"Aww! But they're my only research subjects. What am I going to do without them?" She stuck her bottom lip out, pouting.

"When are you going to get another chance to research a Reaper's soul? It's a one-time offer, and you better decide fast. I'm not going to hang around here forever." I stared into her face, determined to get what I wanted. I owed Freya, and I wasn't going to let the debt go unpaid.

"That's true. You're quite the negotiator, you know." She rolled her head around her shoulders, cracking her neck loudly.

"So I've been told." She raised an eyebrow at me, the amused look in her eyes gone.

"So, you'll let me research on you, for the release of Freya's family, and a way to repress your Soul Wavelength like witches can?"

"Exactly."

"Done. Oooh, this is going to be so much fun!" She threw her arms up, the bear's paws flopping against her chest. "Well, we'd better get started now, right?"

"Right."

"Kid, think about this for a minute, are you really sure you want to a let a witch do experiments on you? Should could damage your soul irreparably!" Liz pleaded with me, on the verge of tears.

Artemis looked at the demon weapon, a lazy, amused smile on her face. "What kind of researcher would I be if I damaged my subject? A broken tool is of no use to me. I promise I'll keep him in tip-top shape!"

Liz returned to human form, followed by Patti. "I've never been one to trust a witch." She snarled.

"Will you trust me if I pinkie swear?" She lifted her hand, wiggling her smallest finger in Liz's face.

I stepped between them, ending the conversation abruptly. "That's enough. You two go make sure Freya is alright, and tell her she's free. I'll find you when we're finished here."

"Kid..."

"Hey witch!" Patti leaned forward on my shoulder, staring Artemis down with a scowl. "If you hurt Kid, I'll mess you up." With that, she let go, grabbed Liz's wrist, and tugged her towards the tunnel we had entered the castle from.

I watched them disappear from view, and turned to the witch. "I want to get this over with as quickly as possible."

"Hmm, alright. You're kind of naggy, do you know that?" She held out her hand, turning a black palm up for me to take. "To the laboratory, then." Her eyes flashed, beaming broadly, showing she had long, sharp canine teeth. She didn't wait for me to take her hand, roughly grabbing my wrist instead.

"So Kid. I'm curious. Why would you let me, a witch, do experiments on you to find a way to block your soul wavelength and prevent the effects of Soul Corrosion? Don't you like being a Reaper?" She tipped her head back to look at me, though she still walked forward.

"There's someone I love, and I have to do it to keep her safe." I ignored her laugh at my response, and tugged me forward a bit faster, around the place she had been sleeping and into another corridor.

"Aww, it's for a girl, then! Learning from your father's mistakes, I see. This girl must really be something."

She knew about what happened to my mother? How? My eyes widened, and I stopped walking. Artemis blinked at my sudden stop, and turned to look at me, letting go of my wrist. "Oh, did I pique your interest? I met your mother once, you know." She smiled fondly, and put a hand on my stomach. "When she was pregnant, actually. Was it eight months along? No, seven. Seven months. She came to me with a proposal similar to yours. She knew she was dying. She came to me, asking if I could protect her soul with some kind of magic." She let her hand slide, and fall limply to her side. "I said I could help her, but I couldn't guarantee _your_ safety." She looked up at the ceiling, lifting a hand to the icy walls and tapping her fingers in rhythmic succession. "So she refused. She wouldn't risk your safety, and left knowing full well her life was coming to a close." She took her hand off the wall, using her thumb to wipe away a tear. I didn't even know I was crying until she did that. I squeezed my eyes shut and looked away.

Artemis inhaled, and let out a soft sigh through her nose. "I have to say, I admired her for having that kind of courage, and being that strong." She let out a choked laugh, on the verge of tears herself. "You should be proud to call that woman your mother. You have her eyes, Kid."

That was what brought me down. I couldn't handle it anymore, and leaned my back against the wall, sliding down to the floor, trying my damnedest not to cry, and failing miserably. Every breath I took in was shuddering, every exhale choked with pain. Artemis lowered herself to the floor next to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulder.

We sat like that for a while, silent, until I finally got my breathing back under control. I let out one last broken sigh, and turned to look at her.

"I'm glad I got to meet her son. I won't do any experiments on you, Kid. Whatever you need, I'll work my hardest on. That's a promise. This girl, I'm sure your mother would love her." She put a hand on my shoulder, using it to push herself up. "C'mon now, Kid. We better get to work. We're wasting time."

I looked up at her, and nodded. She offered her hand to help me up, and I took it, pulling myself off the floor and straightening my jacket.

"The lab is just up ahead, alright?" She didn't let go of me, just pulled me along the hallway like a small child, and I didn't mind that at all. Soon, the tunnel of ice was blocked by a door, which with a few quick hand movement and whispers, creaked open. Artemis led me inside, sitting me down in a black chair in the middle of the room filled with machinery, beakers, caged animals and other schematics I didn't recognize. "Coat off, please."

I yanked the coat off without a word, giving it to Artemis to place near the door we came in. Despite the castle being made of ice, the room wasn't cold at all. Still, I just couldn't get my mind off of my mother...Artemis met her, and spoke with her. She knew she was dying, but gave her life up to make sure I lived. I had to think hard about whether or not I had that kind of courage. Here I was, sitting in a witch's castle to save Maka, but if it came down to me or her, My life, or the life of a girl I loved, what would I do? I could speculate all I wanted, but in reality, I would only know if it happened. But I was going to everything in power to prevent that kind of situation. Artemis broke my thoughts by lifting up my chin with one finger.

"I'm going to have to examine your soul. Can you hold still, and not resist?"

I nodded, closing my eyes and willing myself to relax. Artemis hummed softly, kneeling down on the ground in front of me, closing her eyes, a faint pink glow surrounding her. I could feel her presence in my soul, a faint burning in my chest. I felt exposed, my entire being laying out in front of her. I would have felt more comfortable being completely naked rather than have her probe my soul this way. The minutes dragged on, and all I could do was stare at the wall, eyes half-open, and wait. "Artemis?" I wasn't sure if she could talk while she was focused on this, but the small hum of response I got encouraged me to ask more. "Will you tell me more about my mother? What did she look like?"

"She had long, black hair, about to the middle of her back. It always stuck up in the back like a duck's tail." She chuckled a bit, and continued, "And her eyes were like sunlight, with a core of melted gold. She wasn't very tall, but she was amazingly thin." Her smile vanished, and she placed one of her hands on mine. "Kid, this might hurt."

"I'm not concerned. Just keep talking about my mother. What was her name?" At that moment, it felt like my chest had been stabbed. "_Ugh_!" I curled forward, breathing heavily and trying hard to ignore the pain.

"I'm sorry Kid, I never learned her name."

The pain is my soul doubled, to the point where I could hardly breathe.

"She had the voice of an angel. When she started to speak, everything else went silent, like the whole world wanted to listen. She carried herself with pride and confidence, yet she was a humble woman." The witch wrapped her arms around me, touching her forehead against mine. She continued to tell me about my mother, what she knew, at least. By the time she ran out of things to say, the grip on my soul that caused so much pain had lessened, to the point where it was at least tolerable.

"I've done enough talking, why don't you tell me about this girl you're fighting so hard to protect?"

_Maka_... I took a moment to gather myself, trying to think of anything to say. "Where do I start?" Despite the pain that still held my soul, I smiled. "She's smart, a straight-A student, an absolute nerd."

Artemis chuckled softly, "Well, that sounds right up your alley."

I snorted. "Yeah, right. She never missed a question, and I can't even finish writing my name on a test. But even so, she never gets upset with me. She so selfless, never thinking of herself. She'll forgive just about anything and love everyone, even if she might not show it in a normal way." My smiler grew fonder, and just talking about Maka, the discomfort of my soul lessened. "She's given her partner more than enough 'love taps' to last a lifetime, but she'd die for him, for any one of her friends, actually."

"She sounds a lot like your mother." Artemis leaned away from me, putting a hand on my chest.

"Does she?" I smiled at the thought. My mother must have been truly amazing. "But the best thing about Maka is that every day, she always manages to her pigtails perfectly symmetrical."

The witch chuckled, followed by a small hum of contentment. "Does it still hurt? Your Soul?"

I hushed, looking deep for any lingering pain. "No, it doesn't. Not even a little." I hadn't even noticed the pain was gone. Maka really was amazing, if she could do that without even being around; just thinking about her healing my very soul.

"Good, that means we're done."

"Huh?" Really, that quickly? She could put up a barrier that fast?

"Don't looked so shocked. Do you think I've been sleeping for a century?" She had an annoyed look on her face, one side of her lips curved into a slight scowl, but her eyes sparkled with humor.

"I had my suspicions."

She scoffed, and punched my in the chest lightly. "You little brat." She stood up, patting bits of debris from the skin around her shoulders. "Kid, the barrier around your soul will prevent your wavelength from corroding the soul of humans nearby. However, since your wavelength is trapped, resonating souls with your partners will be a _lot_ harder. Plus, most of the power you have as a benefit of being a reaper will be inaccessible. And if you try and use it, you'll start hurting again."

"If it means protecting Maka, I can deal with that." I remained sitting, absolutely exhausted.

"You look tired."

"Tired? That's the biggest understatement I've ever heard. Can I hibernate with you?"

She laughed, grabbing my wrist and pulling me up. "_No_. Get out."Why did she sound completely serious? She reached into her robe, and pulled out a small vial of red liquid. She pressed it into my hand, and looked up at me. "If for whatever reason you need to get rid of the barrier, drink this."

I held up the vial, which shone in the light. "What is it?"

"Polar bear blood."

"_What?"_


	9. Finally, Back in Death City!

P_erfect _S_ymmetry_

**Thanks for all the reviews, guys! c: It's so nice to get feedback from the readers! **

**...But srs, this fic is bad for my health. I've contracted a lovely dose of heartburn from Mountain Dew and Pocky overload, and well as having lost 3 pounds since I started this fic, due to choosing writing in favor of lunches. (And yes, for me, losing weight is a bad thing. I'm threatening to go under 100 pounds again soon, and I'm pushing 18.)**

**Oh, and if you guys are looking for more good KiMa, try **_**Symmetrical Beauty**_** by ****kyonkichi's kitten, and **_**Wonderfully Asymmetrical **_**by Ryder16. (I think those are pretty popular right now anyway, but still, they're definitely worth an honorable mention!) I really enjoyed both of those fanfics, and they're especially good if you're looking for more fluff and something a little less...serious (Is that good word?) than my fic. CUZ SHITS GONNA GET **_**DARK**_**. ...Eventually.**

**Just a warning, this chapter is allovertheplace, since the stuff I want to cover isn't long enough by itself to have its own chapter.**

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><p>The mission to Siberia had been a complete success, the Kishin egg was successfully recovered, and now we were heading home. It had been two days since we left the academy to go on this mission, and I wanted nothing more than to be home.<p>

"Man, talk about sucky. It was so cold!" Soul pouted, sitting between the window and me on the plane. He had bitched about having a window seat for so long I finally gave in.

"Tell me about it! I thought my balls were going to freeze off!" Black*Star laughed loudly in the row ahead of us, turning around to make sure we heard him, like we wouldn't either way. It was drawing the attention of the other passengers, who have gave him a mixture of confused and irritated looks. It was _embarrassing_.

"BLACK*STAR!" I snarled at him, not in the mood for any of his crap right now. "Turn your ass around, shut up and sit down!"

"Jeez, Maka, calm your tits." Soul rolled his eyes at me, and paused a moment. "...Wait..." He and Black*Star glanced at each other, and broke out into loud whoops of laughter.

That did it. They could embarrass me in public, be vulgar and obnoxious on an airplane, but making fun of my chest size was _not_ okay. It wasn't like I could help it! I pulled out my dictionary, (The one that translated Russian to English) holding it threateningly above my head. "There's _nowhere_ to run on an airplane, Soul. I want you to shut up, and Black*Star to sit down until we land. How many concussions do you have left until you suffer from permanent brain damage?"

"Tch, not many." He shut up and stared out the window, his friend turned around and didn't say another word.

Finally, some peace and quiet. I think threatening other passengers in the air was illegal, but the stewardess just walked past like nothing had happened. I had a feeling she was as grateful for the silence as I was.

I wondered what Kid was doing. He was probably hunched over a book in the library, or fixing something that was asymmetrical. At the very least, I was sure he was having a better time than me.

**-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-**

"This is hopeless!" Liz whined loudly, standing in front tunnel of ice that led out of the castle. As Artemis was escorting me out of the castle, I found Liz and Patti had in fact, never gone back up the tunnel of ice that led to the world above. "It's just too damn slippery! I can't get up five feet without falling back down!" Liz was frustrated beyond reason about it, but Patti was enjoying herself, climbing up as high as possible, and laughing loudly as she slid back down.

"Look, Sis! It's like a slide!"

Artemis had shrugged, looking sheepishly at us. "I've been asleep for two months, how was I supposed to maintain it?" So now we were stuck. It was too small of an area to use the Beelzebub to get up, and with the barrier around my soul, I wasn't even sure if I could still use it. I was really hoping I could, since I loved that skateboard.

Finally, Artemis sighed. "Well, let's try _this_." She started to make a few hand movements, murmuring a spell to herself, the series ending with that looked like the shadow puppet of a dog. There was a large cloud of smoke and snow, and Artemis had taken the form of a Polar Bear.

"Artemis, why don't you just use magic to make this into a staircase, or something?" Liz put her hands on her hips, eying the witch.

"My magic doesn't fully awaken until spring. So after after pulling off that spell with Kid, my options are pretty limited." She yawned loudly to exaggerate her point, letting out a bearish, "_Urrr-aahhh!"_ She lifted paw, flexing her digits and observing the black claws that barely poked out of her fur. "If the sisters could change to weapon form, I might be able to give you a ride up."

It sounded like as good of an idea as any, and I held out my hands to the sisters. "Liz, Patti."

"Right!" They changed to weapon form, but as I held onto the handles, I realized that handing on to them and the bear at the same time would be extremely difficult.

"This might be a bit weird." I sighed, and put the guns in my back pockets.

"Yup, this _is_ weird." Liz confirmed.

Patti laughed loudly, clapping her hands, "Kid's butt is comfy!"

I opened my mouth to reply to that, thinking of how to start the rant that was beginning to form, but I was cut short by Artemis.

"Oh, hurry up, the sooner you leave the sooner I can get back to my beauty sleep." She growled, throwing her head and rubbing her eye with a huge paw.

"Sorry for keeping you waiting, then. You need all the beauty sleep you can get." I smirked, swinging a leg over her back and wrapping my arms around her neck.

Artemis laughed once, dryly, "You little bastard. I could kill you by sitting on you, if I wanted to!" She shook her back, forcing me to cling to her a bit more to keep my balance.

"Well, maybe you should skip the beauty sleep and start working out more, then." Liz snickered, unable to pass up such a perfect opportunity.

"_Buuuurn_!" Patti laughed, giving her sister a high-five.

Artemis yelped in surprise, quickly turning it into a growl, planting her furry behind firmly on the ice. "I'm not going _anywhere_ until you apologize!"

"Are you serious?" I stared flatly at her, sighing heavily. "_Liz_! _Patti_! Say you're sorry!"

Artemis let out a loud huff, wiggling her ears and turning to look at me expectantly.

Liz groaned, "Artemis, I'm sorry. Making fun of a lady's weight is rude and improper."

With a huff, Patti nodded in agreement. "Now can you get us _out_ of here!"

Letting out a loud snort, the bear-witch looked forward, mumbling to herself about them 'not meaning it', 'being rude,' and things like that. But, she still began to walk up the icy slope, digging her claws into any grooves she could find. She was huffing and puffing by the time the surface was within reach. With a final roar, she slumped over the lip of the cave, lying in the snow. She chuckled, quite pleased with herself. "Not bad for having just woken up!"

I slid off of her back, brushing away the white fur that clung to my black coat. _This is why I'll never own a pet..._I looked around, surrounded by an endless expanse of white. Freya was asleep, still in her animal form, curled up in a drift. I stepped through the snow, being careful to not to sink in. "Freya."

No response, so I tried again, louder. "Freya!" She still slept soundly in the snow. I growled in annoyance, kicking snow in her face. She snorted a bit, but that was all. She was bound to be tired, but this was ridiculous.

I took Liz out of my back pocket, pointing the gun at her furry rump. "Liz, sting shot."

"Is that good idea?"

"No. But do it anyway." I pulled the trigger once, sending a small pink orb into the hide of the caribou. She squealed awake, springing up from the snow, and tried to run to nowhere in particular, yelling for me to' have mercy' and that she 'didn't mean it'. Her foot caught in a drift, and she was sent face-first into the snow. _Idiot_. "Freya, calm down. You're free." Liz and Patti returned to human form, watching her trip.

The reindeer poked her head up from the snow, a pile of it collected between her antlers. "I'm...free? _Really_?" She reared up on her hind legs, mooing with excitement, starting to bounce in the snow. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, _thank you_!"

I turned from the deer, focusing on Artemis, who had finally caught her breath and was beginning to stand up. "Artemis."

"Yeah?" The bear looked at me, blinking. "Need something else?"

"Thank you."

"Tch, don't mention it, Kiddo. It was the least I could do. Maybe I couldn't help your mother, but I could help you. Besides, me and your dad go _waaay_ back! Tell him he still owes me-e!" She laughed, and let herself begin to slide down into the cave. "Wheee!"

"Artemis! Wait!" But it was too late. She had disappeared, back into her castle. _Fuck_. As much as I wanted to ask her about how she knew my father, going down there and getting back up would be a fiasco, and I doubted Artemis would help me this time. Of course, I could just ask my father, but telling him about coming here, working with a witch, (even if she was a lot less dangerous than expected) and sneaking around behind his back wasn't a very good idea. No, asking him was definitely out of the question, along with reminding him of the fact that he still owed Artemis. For what, exactly?

"With the way that witch acts, you'd think she was ten years old, not ten centuries." Freya had gotten over her excitement, eying the entrance of the cave wearily, like Artemis would come back out at any second. "So, you got what you wanted?"

"Yes, I did, and more." I held out my hand, calling to Beelzebub. Much to my relief, it appeared, and seemed functional. I wanted nothing more than to be home, and lay in bed for the rest of my life. I sighed, stepping onto the hovering skateboard. I looked to Liz and Patti, but they seemed to have a different idea than me. Instead, Freya was leaning forward on her front legs, allowing the sisters to climb on her back. Whatever, if Freya could handle it, it worked for me.

She grunted from the effort, but managed to stand up on all fours, nodding to me. "We better get you back home, huh?"

**-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-**

Finally, after a flight that was over twelve hours of torture, we were back in Death City. Soul could be such an asshole sometimes! And when Black*Star was around, it only got worse. Despite my threats, they poked fun at me and drove me up the fuckin' wall the entire flight home after one of the stewardesses told me wasn't allowed to hit them with a book on the flight. Almost as soon as we stepped out of the airport I bashed their skulls in, but I was still pissed off. I wanted to see Kid right now, so without stopping home, I marched up to his mansion, knocking on the door. No answer. I tried again, with the same result. I figured he wasn't home, but found the door unlocked.

I think that was considered trespassing, but I didn't care, and I didn't think my boyfriend would either. The house was eerily empty. Something I would never understand was how Kid could have so much space in his home. I was willing to bet he only used a small fraction of it, but the mansion was an expansive maze of hallways and doors, perfectly symmetrical on both sides. That really only added to my confusion, but eventually I stumbled across what looked to be Kid's room. I stepped in, turning the light on. Yup, definitely his. The room had perfect symmetry, down to the decorations on the wall to the way the large bed in the middle of his room was made immaculately. I walked to the back of the room, sighing heavily and falling onto the bed. I had assumed it was newly washed and clean, but I was wrong. The pillow I chose to cuddle with still smelled like him. I held it for a while, taking in the scent. It smelled mostly like the cologne he wore, but there was a hint of soap. He must really clean a lot. I sighed, and pulled myself away. Kid liked to read almost as much as I did, so he had to have some book around somewhere. Being in Kid's house didn't save me from boredom, after all.

I found myself wandering around the house, completely lost _again_. I was about to give up, until pushing open a set of large double doors. The creaked open, revealing not just a small room of books, but an entire library. Kid really had this in his _house_? I carefully walked inside, stepping around neat, symmetrical stacks. Was it organized in any way? Knowing Kid, it probably was. Half of the books I looked at weren't even in English, but in a huge array of languages with crisp symbols and unfamiliar words. I lost track of time, and by the time I exited the library with three books under my arm, it was dark outside. It didn't bother me much, and I began the hunt for Kid's room again.

Every step I took echoed softly through the halls, exaggerating the emptiness of the place. I must have been learning, though, since this time around I found his room in under ten minutes. How was it he could find things in this maze of a house, not remember the way back to it from my apartment?

I set my books on the bed, and realized I had no sleepwear to change into. _Oh, well._ I settled with sleeping in my tank top and pants. Folding the rest neatly and setting it on the floor next to the bed, I crawled under the covers. I wondered what Kid would think if he knew I was doing this, but I had a hunch he wouldn't mind too terribly.

I reached up, pulling the binds out of my hair, letting my usual pig tails fall. I tousled it into slight curls that fell around my face. It didn't look the best, but it was comfortable than having it tied up. I picked up the first book, gently opening the cover to the first page. It smelled old, but looked like new. I started reading, and was completely lost in the story, setting, and the characters.

_Aravis also had many quarrels (and, I'm afraid even fights) with Cor, but they always made it up again: so that years later, when they were grown up, they were so used to quarreling and and making it up again that they got married so as to go on doing it more conveniently. And after King Lune's death they made a good King and Queen of Archenland, and Ram the Great, the most famous of all kings of Archenland, was their son. Bree and Hwin lived happily to a great age in Narnia and both got married but not to one another. And there weren't many months in which one or both of them didn't come trotting over the pass to visit their friends at Anvard._

I shut the book, and yawned. It had taken me a lot longer than I had thought to read, and when I pulled out my cell phone to check the time, I discovered it was nearly four in the morning. I yawned again, setting the books on the floor; on top of my clothes. I was so tired my eyes hurt, although I hadn't noticed until now. I sunk into the mattress, clinging to the pillow that smelled of Kid. I wondered where he was; he had never told me he was going anywhere. I just hoped he came back soon, I really needed to vent and get some crap off my chest.

Now that I was thinking about it, I never realized how much I leaned on him. If something was bothering me, I told _him_ about it. If I had a problem, I asked _him_ for help. If I needed advice, _he_ was always giving it to me. How did he handle the weight of all my burdens? If I tried to talk to Soul, he'd look like he was listening, but I knew that unless it involved him, he didn't really care. But Kid, Kid hung on my every word, engaged in the conversation, instead of responding to me with more then just an, _"Uh huh."_ or half-hearted slight nod of the head like Soul.

I smiled into the pillow; I missed him now more than ever.

**-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-**

By the time Liz, Patti and myself were back in Death City, it was so late it was early, and I was feeling the effects of serious jet-lag. I was so grateful to put my hands on the handle of the magnificent doors of my home, swinging them open and stepping inside. I sighed in relief, and immediately headed upstairs to my bedroom. Being as tired as I was, the flight of stairs I had to climb was a battle in itself. The mansion seemed never-ending as I counted the doors until my room. "Six...Seven...Ah! Eight." I turned the knob, letting a thin stream of light into the room. I marched straight to my closet, threw off every bit of unnecessary clothing, which was everything but my boxers, and turned to face my bed. Until that moment, I hadn't even realized that it was..occupied?

All I could see was a mess of dirty blonde hair, and a neat stack of clothes and books on the floor. "Maka?" My cheeks got hot, and I quickly scampered back to the closet, throwing on a crisp, clean white button-up shirt and the single pair of non-formal slacks I owned.

I was about to flee the room and crash on the couch, but a though hit me. _When was the next time Maka would willingly sleep in my bed? _I had two options:

_One:_ Go and safely sleep on the couch.

_Two:_ Carefully crawl into my bed, and hope that I didn't get my skull smashed in by a book when she woke up.

I decided to take my chances with the latter. The bed was plenty big enough for two to fit comfortably, anyway. I walked around to the other side, taking a moment to simply watch Maka sleep. She looked so serene, laying on her side, legs tucked close to her body. She was cuddling a pillow, the one I usually used. Her breathing was slow and soft, barely making a sound at all.

Really, I was incredibly nervous about this whole ordeal. What if she woke up and accused me of being a pervert? I couldn't exactly say I '_hadn't noticed'._ But, it went off without a hitch, Maka remaining completely tranquil even as I wiggled my way into the bed. I lay on my back, arms behind my head, staring at the ceiling for while. Why had she decided to come to my house? I imagined a fight with Soul again; that was the usual reason. But to sleep in my bed? I had no idea. It suddenly hit me that now I could lay here, in such close proximity to her, with no ill effects at all. It was wonderfully exciting!

Maka sighed, rolling over in her sleep. One of her arms fell across my waist, her slender fingers tightening around my shirt. As if drawn to my warmth, she snuggled closer, abandoning the pillow and resting her head nook of my shoulder. My cheeks got hot again, but I smiled anyway. I put one of my arms around her. Perfectly comfortable, I closed my eyes and let myself get some much needed sleep.

Unfortunately, I found myself standing int he negative field, staring an extremely unhappy dragon in the eye.

_"You idiot!" _He was panting heavily, his voice raised so loudly it shook the ground. "You're such a fool that you'd trap me here for some stupid girl?"

"Yes, basically." I smirked. Seeing the beast so pissed made me happier, somehow. I noticed a soft glow out of the corner of my eye, floating not far from where me and the dragon stood. He snarled, baring his teeth at Maka. "What's the matter? Don't you want to file your claws like you usually do?" He snarled, but didn't make a move.

"You little brat. you think this solves everything, don't you?" He sneered at me, lips curled up and claws digging into the grass. "Well, we'll see what your pretty little girlfriend thinks of what you did. you think she'll accept it and skip off into the sunset? No, she'd never let you restrict your power for her. You know that as well as I do." The dragon stared me down, glancing at the floating soul occasionally.

"What she doesn't know won't hurt her." Maybe not telling her was a bad idea on my part, but until I could find a way to make her accept it...

Snorting loudly, the dragon called my attention back to him. "Listen, Kid. The truth has a nasty way of coming out; When, not if, it does, it won't be pretty. You might even lose her. I've spent enough time with her soul to know she doesn't like being lied to, especially by the person she trusts more than anyone. So don't come crying to me when your little plan backfires."

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><p><strong>Summing that last bit up: Maka's gonna be <em>hella<em> pissed when she finds out what Kid did.**

**The little book snippet is the last sentences of the "A Horse and His Boy"; a part of the Chronicles of Narnia. Props to C.S. Lewis for it.**

**I pulled a random book from my case, and that was the book. Since that one was my favorite story, I used it. I guess Kid likes Narnia too, now. Lol.**


	10. Breakfast in Bed

P_erfect _S_ymmetry_

* * *

><p><strong><em>HAHAHAHAH. <em>SOMEONE AS AWESOME AS ME DOESN'T NEED BREAKS! **

**Okay, maybe I do. I actually love to eat, (It's one of my favorite hobbies. ._. lol.) My bestie is in my lunch block now, so I'll probably start going there again instead of hiding in the library.**

**Thanks for the concern, though! I feel loved?**

**(Probably not the best response. Lol. )**

**_Anyway_, I know at least one person likes Artemis, and I hope more people do, because she's one of the very few OC's that will consistent throughout the story. Yay bears!**

**Also, I've decided that at some point in the near future, I'm going to write a fic called, "In which Death the Kid plays Minecraft." **

**I was playing 1.8. I was doing a bit of spelunking (On peaceful, because I'm a huge pussy. Creepers are scary mother truckers.) and I was going to build myself a nice little bridge over some lava, and despite holding down the shift key, I fell into the lava and died, all of my rare ores and tools burned to a crisp.**

**Like any true gamer, I rage quitted. I haven't touched it since. **

**ONWARDS! TO GLOOOORY! Time for some fluff, awkward, and toast! Yay!**

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><p>I slept through the night, dreamless, for what only seemed like the blink of an eye. I'm not sure what it was that woke me up, but I was so comfortable and warm, I didn't want to open my eyes and have to leave. Luckily, somewhere in the back of my mind I knew it was Saturday, which meant I didn't have to go to the academy. I had no idea what time it was, but the sun was shining fiercely in my eyelids, turning my once black world a dark orange. I sighed, not giving up that easily, and buried my face in what I was hugging, blocking the light.<p>

I stayed like that for a while, almost falling sleep again until what I was hugging _moved_. Uh, that wasn't right. I cracked my eyes open, momentarily blinded by the light. When I recovered, I was looking into a white shirt, which I had an iron grip on with both hands. I let out a small squeak, I was cuddling with Kid!

In response to my vocalization, he sighed softly, turning slightly and tightening his grip on my waist. I hadn't even noticed he had a hand there until that motion. But now that I was over the initial shock of finding myself in bed with Kid, I was really enjoying this. His warmth, the slow movements of his chest as he inhaled, the way his lips were slightly parted, even though he was breathing through his nose. His body was slightly curved, his knees brought up gently around mine. He rested his head on his arm, the one that wasn't on me, and I felt safe and happy, laying with him like this.

I cuddled closer, taking his smell, listening to his slow, rhythmic heartbeat. Kid never seemed to relax, but now he seemed at complete ease. I didn't care at all what time it was, I could lay here like this with Kid all day. I hummed with contentment, letting my eyes drift close again.

I had fallen asleep again without realizing it, but now that I had woken up for a second time, I was wide awake, with no hope of going back to sleep. Kid was still sleeping (He must have had a long night.), and it seemed like he hadn't moved at all. I hated to do this, but I carefully wiggled out of his grasp. I was covered in sweat, and I felt disgusting. I hadn't showered in a few days, at least. I had no idea where the bathroom was, but upon closer observation, there was a door straight across from his closet, preserving the symmetry of the room. I peeked inside, and found it was indeed a bathroom, shower included. I stepped inside and carefully shut the door, being sure to hold the handle down to avoid making noise. I sighed, and turned the shower's handle, starting the stream of water. I stripped, throwing my clothes on the counter, and stepping in. Kid's shower was so clean it sparkled, everything was, really. The entire bathroom was white porcelain, and perfectly symmetrical in every way. He even had all of this bottles of stuff organized to be symmetrical. I wondered if I should be worried about the severity of his OCD for a second, but I remembered it was Kid and just dealt with it. I ended up having to use men's soap, but I least I didn't smell like dirt and body odor anymore. I twisted the tap off, stepping out of the shower, wrapping myself in a black towel.

Kid didn't have much in his bathroom, as expected, but I found enough. I ran a comb through my wet hair, picking my bra up off the floor, an action that made me sigh. Kid must not mind all that much...unless he did, and wasn't saying it. Living with Liz and Patti, maybe he had high expectations? My cheeks turned red, and I suddenly felt self-conscious about it, where I never had before when Kid was involved.

But, there was nothing I could do about it, so I put it on. Changing back into the rest of my dirty clothes would really defeat the purpose of taking a shower, but I hadn't thought to stop home and get anything. I could ask Liz and Patti for something, but I doubted they'd have anything that would fit me. I hummed, looking around. I spied one Kid's white button-up shirts; the kind he usually wore under his black jacket. It wasn't ideal, but it had to do. I buttoned it up, but I was still lacking pants. The shirt covered everything, but it was still an exposed feeling I wasn't comfortable with. I gently opened the door, peeking around. Much to my relief, Kid was still sleeping soundly. I crept across the room, searching his closet for something I could wear. Nothing.

"_Shit_." I cursed myself for not thinking to bring anything with me, and softly opened the door to the hallway, shutting it with just as little sound. I'd just have to ask Patti for something, since she was closer to my size than Liz. Now that I was out of Kid's room, I relaxed a little, walking normally instead of tip-toeing like I was in a minefield. I made sure to count the doors until the staircase, which was eight. _Of course_. Now...which room was Patti's?

I walked around for a bit, until I discovered a door covered in pictures of giraffes and brightly colored stickers. I was willing to bet Kid wasn't pleased about that, but since it was Patti, he let it slide.

I knocked on the door, hoping she wasn't as out-cold as her meister. There was a soft rustling befind the door, the knob turned, and Patricia peeked out at me. "Oh, hi Maka! Why are you here?" She paused, and looked me over. "And why are you wearing Kid's clothes?"

"Well, I've been here since last night, actually – Hey! Don't look at me like that!" A sly smirk had crossed her face, and she giggled. "It's not what you think, really! And I know this won't help, but...Can I borrow some clothes?"

She laughed again, but opened her door a little wider and let me step inside. Her room was decorated in the same fashion as her door, with crayon-drawn pictures and other gaudy decorations hung up everywhere. She danced around to a dresser, opening it. "Whatcha need?"

"A pair of pants. And uh, some panties, if you could." My face turned bright red, which wasn't helped at all by Patti's renewed giggles. She threw a few things at me, and put her hands on her hips. "So, what _were_ you doing? If it wasn't...you know." She pressed her knuckles to her lips to keep from laughing again, and I scowled at her.

"Soul was pissing me off yesterday, so I came here, but you weren't home. I ended up falling asleep in Kid's bed, and when I woke up, there he was." I explained hurriedly, embarrassed by it all, though I hadn't actually done anything laughable, in my opinion.

"Don't worry, I knew that!"

"Then why did you make me explain it to you?"

"Because it was funny!" She grabbed a pillow, hugging it against her chest and muffling her giggles with it.

"Bitch!"

"Hey, I lent you clothes!" She scowled at me, but it didn't last long. I slipped into her closet, tugging the pair of pink panties that Patti had given me on. It wasn't until I actually pulled it up that I noticed it was a thong. I had never worn one before, and felt horribly uncomfortable. But, it had to do, since I didn't want to nag Patti. (It was probably all she had, anyway.) The pajama pants she had given me were mostly white, but had small giraffes leaping over rainbows decorating little patches. Patti _really_ like those things. They were shorts meant to hang just below the knee, but they were a bit small, so they clung to my thighs. It wasn't ideal, but it was better than running around with nothing under the white shirt I was wearing.

I thanked Patti, and stepped out into the hallway. I wandered downstairs, my stomach demanding food. The cabinets were jet black, opposite of the white walls and floor, but matching the table and woodworking of the room nicely. Kid really liked his black and white, didn't he? I made a mental note to get something with color in it, but not now. I opened cabinets and drawers, looking for something to eat. It felt a bit odd to be rummaging through Kid's kitchen, but whatever. I didn't really care. I opened the fridge, and sighed. This was hopeless. There wasn't anything I could without any kind of preparation.

I spent some more time rummaging around, and managed to find everything I needed to make french toast. I mixed it all together, dipped the bread, and set it in a frying pan. While I waited, I backed up and looked at the clock on the wall above. It was almost 3:30 p.m. Damn, I'd never slept in _that_ late before.

I finally had a stack of four toasts, drizzled syrup on it, and sat at the table. I poked at it with a fork, wondering if Kid would want any. I hummed, picking the plate up and carrying it upstairs. I took a right, and counted eight doors. Balancing the plate of toast on one hand, I twisted the knob and slipped in. Kid was _still_ asleep.

I sat on the edge of the bed, swinging my legs over the edge to lean against the headboard. My movement finally woke Kid up, and he slowly opening his golden eyes. He got about half way, until the light made him groan and bring his hands up to his face. I poked his leg with my foot, prodding him awake. "Kid, get up. It's almost four in the afternoon."

"Can I keep sleeping until eight?"

"_No._"

He sighed again, and sat up, rubbing his eyes unhappily. He looked like a mess, but it was a _hot_ mess. His hair was sticking up everywhere, his shirt was wrinkled, collar flipped. It was actually reall sexy in that rugged I-don't-give-a-damn kind of way. He looked over to me with half-open eyes, noticing the toast I was holding.

I smiled, and leaned on his shoulder. "I made breakfast. Want some?" I picked up a piece with my fork, waving it tauntingly in front of his face.

He eyed it a bit suspiciously, but ate it off the fork. Chewing thoughtfully, he hummed with surprise. "Wow. That's really good."

"Thank you." I fed him another bite, taking one myself. I was rather impressed with myself; normally my cooking was a bit questionable.

"So, Maka." Wrapping an arm around me, Kid rested his chin on the top of my head, looking down at me with a slight smile. "Sorry for just kind of...creeping in bed with you last night."

"Really? Because you don't look sorry." I raised an eyebrow at him, taking another bite of toast.

"You're right; I'm not." He chuckled, and I punched him lightly on the shoulder.

"It'll take a lot for me to forgive you, you pervert. Creeping on a helpless girl like me?"

He snorted, stealing the fork from me and stabbing a bit of breakfast. "_Helpless_? You? Ha!" He put the fork in his mouth, rolling his eyes. I tried my best to give him a strong, stern stare, but he only laughed at me. He started coughing suddenly; inhaled a piece of toast, it seemed.

"Serves you right!" I smacked him on the back a little, which I knew didn't help at all, but it was still worth a shot, right? Moral support, or something like that.

He recovered, taking in huge gulps of air. He coughed one last time, and let out a breath of relief. "I'm choking to death, and all you can say is, 'serves you right'? You're a terrible girlfriend." Taking the empty plate from my hands and setting it on the nightstand, he continued, "So," shooting me a cross look for effect, "does this mean I'm forgiven? Don't even tell me that wasn't Karma."

I paused, pretending to think about it. I already knew the answer, but I had to make him squirm a bit. "Nope, I don't think so."

He held up his hands, letting out a long, exaggerated sigh. "Well, then," he put his other arm over me, intertwining his fingers over my stomach,"I'll just have to take drastic measures,then."

_Drastic measures_? What that did that mean? A tight know formed in my stomach thinking about it, exciting me. "Oh? Like?"

Without responding, he leaned forward, placing a slow kiss on my lips. Kissing him back, and turned further into him, putting my hands on his waist. Too soon, his lips left mine. "Am I forgiven?"

I pouted, curling my lip up. "Yeah, that'll do. Don't expect to get off so easy next time, though."

He smiled, nuzzling my neck. "I can handle that. Actually, I need to get in trouble more often."

"Hmm, are you sure? The next time you might get a book to the head."

He winced at the thought, but hugged me a bit tighter. "That's a risk I'm willing to take."

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><p><strong>HURR this chapter was fun to write. My dog was the unfortunate victim of finding out if the way they were cuddling was anatomically possible. She wasn't too pleased about it, but I think she got over it.<strong>

**Another note: Kid got back to his house around 7 am, so at 3:30 he had about 8 hours of sleep. When I'm up that late, I usually wake up after 12-14 hours. I felt like I had to clarify that. ._.**

**Anyway, this chapter is all fluff, but 11 will be back on track with the plot. **


	11. The Games We Play

P_erfect_ S_ymmetry_

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><p><strong>Glass Angel: I looked it up, just for you. Wow! THE ART IS SO CUTE! <strong>**But anyway, wow. Sad for Kid, but you're totally right. * A***

**DarkLilly: Oh, I'm getting there. I'm going to build up their relationship before I take a sledgehammer to its foundation! c: Hahaha!**

**...So I was at work, and I was like "_YEAH!_ I'M SO MOTIVATED TO GO HOME AND WRITE!" **

**I got home, and ended up talking to my friend about the hot Swedish exchange student for an hour. ._. **

**My new goal is to hook up with him before the end of the year. **

**And now all my ideas flew out the window. Crap. **

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><p>When I woke up, there were two things I wondered. The first was why Maka was wearing my shirt. The other was why it made her about eight times more attractive. But I was greeted with breakfast (despite it being well past noon), and spent a while talking and cuddling with her, forgetting all about it.<p>

Now, after our kiss, I still sat in bed with Maka, holding her, arms wrapped around her. She was laying on top of me, arms crossed on my chest. It felt so nice, to be like that. There was one thing I was still wondering, though. "So, what was it exactly that prompted you to come into my house and intrude my bed?"

"Soul was being an asshole; I didn't want to go back to my apartment and deal with his crap." She pouted, sticking out her bottom lip in the most adorable way.

"Oh. Well, you can always come here, any time you want!" She knew that already, but it didn't hurt to remind her. I had guest rooms, but I was fine with her staying in mine anytime she wanted. _I sound like such a pervert..._ "Do you mind me asking _how_ he was being an asshole, exactly?"

She didn't answer for a while, her cheeks red as she seemed to think about it. Grimacing, she started, barely more than mumbling, "He was making fun of my chest."

Oh. That was it? "Was he? How shallow." Really, what was it with him? Maka didn't need huge boobs to be beautiful. I wouldn't deny that well-off girls were fun to look at, but after living with Liz and Patti, I found that they were actually quite the inconvenience when it came to everything other than staring.

She paused again, wiggling uncomfortably. "Y-you don't mind, do you?" Her face was bright red, and she was avoiding making eye contact with me at all costs.

Without hesitation, I answered her in complete honesty, "No, of course not. You're perfect the way you are." I brought one of my hands up to her hair, running my fingers through it. It was smooth and soft. It really liked her hair down, even if her pigtails were perfectly symmetrical. It made her look so much more mature when it fell down over her shoulders.

She sighed happily, like she was relived by my answer, leaning on me more heavily. I buried my nose in her hair, inhaling the scent. It smelled like...me. _Why_? Either way, it reminded me that I desperately needed to bathe. I smelled like a mixture of sweat, gasoline, and bear. "Hm, Maka?"

"Yeah?" She mumbled in response, sending vibrations to my skin.

"I really need to take a shower. Do you mind?"

She chuckled, pushing herself up. "Nope, not at all." She sat back, folding her legs under her. Was she wearing Patti's pants? I was really getting confused. I forced myself not to think about it. I rolled off the bed, straightening my shirt.

"I think I should run home." She announced. "I need to get some of _my_ stuff."

I raised an eyebrow at her, "Looking like that?" She stared at me flatly, clearly unhappy with me. I realized what I had just said, and I panicked, beginning to rapidly explain, "It's not that you don't look nice, it's just what your wearing is a bit...unusual!" I laughed nervously, hoping she realized that's what I really meant. She rolled her eyes, but looked considerably less angry.

"I suppose you're right. I'll just wash my clothes here, then." She quickly opened the door to the bathroom, walking out a moment later with a bundle of clothing in her arms. _Oh_, she had used my shower. Suddenly, everything made sense. She smelled like me because she used my products, stolen a shirt of mine, and borrowed the pants from Patti. R_ight_.

She stepped out, and immediately I lifted my shirt over my head, throwing it to the floor. I'd pick it up later. The door creaked open again, and Maka poked her head in.

I paused, blinking at her. "Yes?"

"...Where's the laundry room?" Her face was red, and she looked horribly embarrassed.

"Downstairs, take a left, and it should be down the hall on the right."

"Thanks!" She disappeared again, and I let out a sigh of relief. Did she have that kind of trouble yesterday? I hoped not. The mansion seemed intimidating, but it was actually very simple and organized once you figured it out.

I stepped into the shower, letting the later run over me. I just stood for a while, leaning against the wall of porcelain, thinking over this morning. It was incredible, that was obvious. _Maybe I should ask her to move in with me..._I shook my head, sending water droplets all over the shower and dismissing the thought, reminding myself, "We've been together for all of a few days." It felt like so much longer. Still, I didn't want to rush her, to scare her away. No, I could wait. All good things were worth waiting for.

Maka had definitely been a long wait, we'd known each other for almost three years now, but it was completely worth it. There was a light knock on the door, and it creaked open slightly. "Kid?" It was her. "You've been in there for...a while. Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine." Really? I felt like I hadn't even been there at all.

"Alright. Liz was worried about you. She thought maybe you had an episode and passed out in the shower." I scoffed, her response being a chuckle. The door quietly shut. I rubbed my hair with shampoo, scrubbed the sweat and wet bear stench off of me, and stepped out. I wrapped a towel around my waist, stepping out into my room. I strode over to the closet, needing clothes. I didn't feel like wearing my usual attire today. I just wasn't in the mood for it. Fully dressed, I stepped back out, my eyes drawn to Maka, laying on the bed, reading. How long had she been there? Long enough to see my damn near nude, I knew that much. Maybe she hadn't noticed, with her nose in a book like that. She was still wearing my shirt. Her laundry wasn't done yet?

She looked up at me over the top of her book. I looked back at her, eyes locked but no words being spoken. I broke the contact, striding over to the bed, sitting on the edge. I looked at her, and smiled slightly.

I thought for a moment, how she would react if she knew what I had done. _I had traveled to a dangerous island, worked with a witch who could have killed me for all I knew, and had my Reaper soul blocked by bear magic_. She would probably hit me with her book, and she wouldn't go easy on me, either. I'd end up like Soul! The sooner I told her about it the better. "Maka?"

She looked up from her book again, tipping her head against the headboard. "Yeah?" I fidgeted, playing with one of the buttons on my shirt. An alarm was going off in my head, screaming for me to tell her, but something else was telling me to keep my mouth shut. "Kid, what is it?" Maka had set her book down, and wormed her way closer, sitting beside me.

"It's just that..." I paused again, desperately trying to find a way out, to take back getting her attention like that. "Maka, I love you." _How can I say I love her when I can't even tell her the truth?_ I did love her, but that wasn't how I wanted it to come out. _I'm a disgusting coward._

**-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-**

I wasn't expecting Kid to just come out and say something like that, and it shocked me. But at the same time, it made my chest swell, my soul soar. _He loves me. _ He refused to look at me, but I wouldn't have any of that. "Kid..." I smiled, throwing my arms around his neck, leaning on his shoulder. "I love you too!"

It felt so nice to hear those words pass my lips in complete sincerity. I hugged him, patting my hands on his chest. I felt like a little kid, I was so excited.

Kid put his hands over mine, but he still looked somber. I frowned. Why was he being so moody all of the sudden? I leaned forward, nipping at the shell of his ear.

He urked in response, his grip on my hands getting a little tighter. _Ooh_. It made me wonder what kinds of reactions I could get by doing small things to him. Suddenly, I was tempted to experiment.

"Maka, what was-" he cut himself off, a small moan escaping his lips as I played with the sensitive back of his ear, sucking and nibbling it. Without warning, he leaned back, squishing me against the mattress under his back.

"Hey!" I wiggled a bit, but he didn't let me up, just laughed. "This isn't _fair_!"

"What _you_ were doing wasn't fair!" He let go of my hands, twisting into his hands and knees, hovering over me. It was such an unfamiliar position, all I could do was stare, wide-eyed at him. "How about a taste of your own medicine, then?"

"What?" It took me a little too long to realize what he meant, because before I could wiggle free, he had me trapped under him. He laughed once, a victorious smirk covering his face. "Hey, Kid, wait a minute! I-" He cut me off with a kiss, running his tongue over my bottom lip, followed by a gentle tug with his teeth. _Damn_, this was too much. Involuntarily, the breath escaping through my nose turned into a soft whimper. Kid, urged on by this response, lifted his lips from mine. He relocated to the inside of my neck, nipping the sensitive skin, soothing the sting with a kiss.

I bit the inside of my lip, forcing the small noises that were bubbling up to remain inaudible. In some desperate effort, I crossed my legs, trying to repress the heat growing in my belly. Every one of his touches was like a shock, sending chills down my spine and making my hair stand on end. I didn't want him to win, but it was a battle I was losing fast. But would I really mind losing? No, I didn't think I would. It wouldn't stop me from trying, though.

At the moment it seemed like I was going to reach my limit, a small buzzing caught my attention. Kid noticed it too, immediately dropping his prior engagement to chime, "Your laundry is done!" and flee the room before I even knew what was happening.

That _bastard_.

I finally let myself groan loudly, breathing heavily as I lay on the bed. Kid really knew how to get me going, it seemed. He knew that buzzer was going to go off, though. He was teasing me! I let out one final huff, sitting up. I pissed me off a little, that he could render me so helpless like that, but at the same time, it was a huge rush. It made me feel alive, like a good girl gone bad. I sighed, slapping a hand to my face._ Get a hold of yourself, it's not a huge deal, you aren't being a 'bad girl', Maka. _I hummed with annoyance at myself, as Kid opened the door, my wad of clothes in his arms.

"Here you go!" He dropped them on the bed, clapping his hands together and falling backwards onto the bed, making the mattress squeak slightly. His eyes narrowed to the half-stare he usually wore, as if that small noise was a huge annoyance. I rolled my eyes at him, gathering my articles of clothing and huffing my way to the bathroom. I heard him chuckle, and I slammed the door for effect.

I wasn't actually angry, really. I just wanted him to think I was, so he wouldn't think he had won so easily. I threw the borrowed clothes on the floor, yanking mine on. I had no idea where Kid put his dirty laundry, so I compromised by folding neatly and putting it on the counter.

I stepped out, waving at Kid. "I'm going to head home; I don't want Soul to worry about me. I never told him where I was going or what I was doing."

"Alright," He sat up, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed, standing up with a stretch, "would you like me to walk you home?" He opened the door for me, stepping out after I did. It was as if the events of five minutes ago never happened. Damn him for being such a gentleman.

"Sure." I smiled, walking with him, side by side out of the doors of the mansion. The desert sun was setting, painting the sky with a orange glow. I looped my arm through Kid's, pulling him to the right when he tried to take a left. I was looking up at the sky, when he stopped suddenly, jerking me back when I failed to stop with him.

He groaned loudly, slapping his free hand to his face. "Oh no."

"What?"

"Nothing, just turn around and walk the other way. _Quickly_." I was confused, but didn't question. It took two blocks worth of detours for him to finally relax, and let out a sigh of relief. I raised an eyebrow at him, which he noticed, but didn't respond to.

"Kid." I stopped, my tone warning. I hated being ignored. He sighed heavily, turning to face me, an expression I had only seen on his face once before.

One word, lined with the most distaste Kid could muster, summed up the whole situation. "_Excalibur_."

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><p><strong>This didn't go well for a while:<strong>

"_**-I walked over to her, sitting on the bed, and laying on top of her book. "Hey!" She wiggled it out from under me, whacking me on the head with it lightly. "What was that for?" "The author has no idea what else to write, so I'm being an OOC idiot. We should bang, because Mons is a huge pervert." "Uh, hell yeah." She grabbed me by the back of my shirt, (Really, that was becoming an issue. She was going to rip it one of these days; and that would completely ruin the symmetry of my very nice, – and expensive – clothes.)-..." **_**I stopped there and got something to eat.**** It helped.**

**Anyway, I could definitely see Maka being a huge tease, but Kid can play that game, too. ;D**

**I've never actually been in a situation like that before, so if it sounds like I have no idea what I'm talking about, it's because I_ don't._**

**(Why is there no good KiMa lemon? :c What little there is has a lot of spelling errors and bad grammar; which a total mood killer for me. :L [No offense to anyone reading who may have one. If you think it's up to par, send me a link, by all means. I'd love to read it.] I found...one, after looking through the whole_ two pages_ of M-rated KiMa.)**

**One last thing: In most KiMa fics I've read, Jacqueline is a huge whore. I'm gonna hop on that lil' pony and ride it into the sunset! Yay ****whores! (I really do like her, though.)**

**Hmm, so I just discovered the Traffic Stats bit, and I'm looking at it now, and I noticed that this story seems to be getting less and less popular as it goes on. D: Herp, is it getting worse? Boring? Does the plot seem uninteresting? Gah! I want to know what it is so I can fix it!**


	12. A Witch in the City

P_erfect _S_ymmetry  
><em>

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><p><strong>FFFF- I just noticed my chapters are all messed up! I think I fixed it, but if you notice anything off, PLEASE let me know! D:<strong>

** I want to say that I'm sorry for all the trouble my changes may have caused! I want this fic to be the best it can be, so deal with me for a while.**

**If you didn't see the A/N, I made a few changes to chapters 5, 6, and the end of 9. I recommend reading them, or you may get confused later on.**

**Also, I think I'm gonna try and wrap this fic up by chapter 20.**

**But there'll probably be a sequel.**

**Cookie: Owch! I should be doing all of those things, but I'm too lazy. I have a job, but for the next 3 weeks I'm scheduled off, even though Paula won't be here for another four days. ^^; I don't do my homework most of the time, I'm kind of a delinquent. **

**But when you get that fic posted, send me a link! **

**The last thing is...EclipseStripe, *Gets down on one knee* I love you. Will you marry me?**

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><p>I left Maka at her apartment again, walking down the street, making sure I took a right, not a left. No getting lost this time.<p>

I was nervous the entire way home, glancing over my shoulder and checking down every corner before I started down the street. The last thing I wanted was to run into Excalibur. I'd dealt with him enough for one lifetime. But why was he in Death City? Had a DWMA student been stupid enough to try and be his meister again?

Luckily, I never once ran into him. I didn't feel like going home, though. It wasn't especially late, and I had nothing to do. _I'll go the library. _I had read most of the books in my house, so the academy was one of my few choices for something new to read.

It was a freezing desert night; by the time I was at the DWMA, I was shivering like mad, and wanted nothing more than to get inside where it was warmer. I pushed open the doors, relieved to be inside.

I was about halfway to the library, walking past the hall that led to the Death room where my father spent most of his time. I heard a voice, "Thank you, Death! I won't let you down!" one that I recognized instantly. I stopped, turned around, and ran into the hallway. Was she really here in Death City?

_Yes_! "Artemis!"

"Huh? Oh! Hey, Kiddo!" She threw her arms around me, pulling me closer for a hug. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, but what are you doing here?" It couldn't be safe for a witch to be in Death City, and to see my father? It was unthinkable. Was she insane?

"Well, your father owed me one, so I convinced him to give me a teaching position here at the academy! Isn't that great?" She laughed, squeezing me a bit tighter again.

"Yes, it's wonderful! But I don't think most of the students will be especially enthralled with being taught by a witch. We're taught to see them as evil."

She stuck out her lip, not pleased by my last statement. She shook her head, "I'm going to make them think I'm a magic animal." She frowned a bit, clearly not happy about that idea. "It isn't ideal, but it'll have to do, if I want to stay!"

Oh, that made sense. With her transformation magic, she could easily pull off being a magical polar bear. That sounded _so_ wrong. There was still something I had to ask her, though. "So, Artemis, why does my father owe you, exactly?" It had been bothering me ever since she had mentioned it on Svalbard.

She hummed, finally letting me go from the hug, and began walking down the hallway. I followed her into the halls of the academy, staying by her side. "Long ago, your father needed to bind his soul to the city, to keep the Kishin from reviving. Well, I was the one that helped him do it."

"You're the one...?" I stopped, and she turned to look at me. Binding a soul, especially my father's, to the city? That was an unimaginably huge feat. But, this witch had done it. Just how powerful was she? It blew me away, really.

"Yup! Impressive, huh? It was the highlight of my research. Oh, speaking of research..." She turned away from me, looking down the hallway. There was a loud thud, the sound of something hard hitting the floor. "Hello, Excalibur."

"Good day, Artemis!" He picked up his cane, and spun it around. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

_Fuck my life. _Why was he here, at the Academy? He hadn't followed Artemis had he? No, why would he? I didn't care, I just wanted him gone. The last thing I wanted was to deal with him _every_ _day_.

"Yes, it has!" Artemis smiled, waving a hand to him. "I'm glad to-"

"Fool!" He jabbed the snow-white cane at her. Her happy smile faded, replaced with a sharp scowl. She hated him as much as everyone else, it seemed. But they knew it each other, that was certain.

" Oh, right. You're annoying. I almost forgot."

"Fool! You won't think that way when hear my legend! It began twelve centuries ago, on a Wednesday. Or was it a Tuesday...?" He started to talk, but Artemis ignored him, turning to me. With a glance, at my expression, she figured that I had met him before, raising her eyebrows and putting a hand on her hip. She patted my shoulder sympathetically.

"Well, Kid. Where was it you were headed to?" Excalibur droned on in the background, still not sure what day his legend had started. Artemis's smile had returned, her black lips curved up pleasantly. I didn't know why, but I felt like I could trust Artemis, that I could confide in her.

"The library, I was going to try and find something to read." She beamed, taking my arm and pulling me in the right direction.

"Fools! You can't hear my legend if you leave!" The small white dog-like creature tapped me on the back of the head with his cane.

I tugged my arm free from Artemis, crouching down to be eye-level with the holy sword.

"You're right to stay, I'm su-" I picked him up by the back of his jacket, standing up and carrying him towards the exit. "Fool! Put me down!" He struggled, but he wasn't going to get out of my grasp.

"No." I stepped outside, into the cold night air. With that, I let him go, bringing up my foot to drop-kick his shiny white ass down the steps. With that, stuck my hands in my pockets, re-entered the academy, and slammed the doors behind me, making sure to lock them.

Artemis stared at me blankly for a moment. I looked up at her, and she burst out laughing. "Y-you literally kicked him out!" She hunched over, arms crossed over her stomach as tears rolled down her cheeks. Her laughter was so intense it was absolutely silent, until she inhaled loudly. "I-I can't breathe! My chest hurts!" She struggled to regain control, holding in her giggles. In attempting to do so, she snorted loudly, and she was laughing all over again. "I'm sorry Kid!" Her fit over, she panted heavily, grinning from ear to ear.

"I've always wanted to do that." I shrugged, and smiled. It had felt nice. Incredible, actually.

"You'll be able to do it again, if you want. He'll be back." Her smile turned sheepish, and I stared flatly at her.

"Why is that?"

"Well...I'm _might_ be the one that brought him here, maybe." She shrugged, looking at me nervously. I had to try my hardest not to punt her out the door, too. My eye twitched, and I stared at her flatly.

"You brought him here."

"...Yup."

"Why would you _ever_ do that?"

She shrugged again, looking away from me. "Well, you know how Excalibur can match Soul wavelengths with anyone? To me, that's _interesting_. So, I brought him for a bit of research. In hindsight, maybe it wasn't worth it."

I sighed heavily. Fantastic. "How long am I going to have to deal with him?"

"Until I get sick of him. At this rate, he'll be gone by tomorrow." She rubbed the back of her head, staring flatly at the doors the weapon had been kicked out of. "Well, we should probably get to the library, huh? I suppose you don't want to be here all night." She smiled gently, taking my arm again. It was a quiet walk, the only sound being our footsteps as they echoed through the halls.

Artemis was in the DWMA now, as a teacher. Why would she want to do that? "Artemis."

"What is it, Kiddo?" We stopped, and Artemis let my arm go, pushing one of the library doors open. As we entered, the librarian looked at us, but said nothing. The witch hummed, crossing her arms, drumming her fingers on her skin.

"Why did you come here – to the academy? I thought you were hibernating, or something."

She turned to face me, avoiding eye contact with me, but smiling. "Well, it's simple, really. I want to make sure you're doing okay."

She would really risk her life coming here for me? My father could have very well rejected her offer and had her killed, and she knew it. But she did it anyway... "Why?" She met my gaze, her dark eyes half open as she thought. Was she here for research? To see how her experiment was coming along?

"I couldn't help your mother." She stated. I already knew that, she had told me before. "But, I can at least make sure her child is safe and happy, right? I think I owe her that." She grinned, stepping closer to me. Suddenly, she hooked my neck with her arm, and began to scrape her knuckles on my head. "Plus, I like ya', Kid! You've really grown on me!" She laughed as I struggled.

"Artemis! Ow, let me go!" I flailed uselessly, trying to break free. But damn, this woman was strong. She patted the spot she had been rubbing, laughing apologetically, and let go. S_he came because she cares about me, huh?_ I couldn't deny, that felt nice. Aside from my father and Maka, I didn't have many people that gave a damn about my well-being. But, she also said she felt like she owed my mother. My good mood vanished quickly, and I looked up at the Bear witch.

She tipped her head, sensing something was off. "Hey, Kiddo. What's the matter? All the sudden you got really sad." She took my hands, leaning close to me. "If you need to say something, so it. I'll always be here to help you out, no matter what it is."

"I just wanted to ask, do you know why you couldn't save my mother without hurting me?" I didn't look at her, choosing instead to stare at a bit of dust on the floor. Did I really want to know? My heart said no, but my mind said yes. So, I asked before I could convince myself not to.

Artemis let out a soft sigh, dropping one of my hands. "Let's sit down." I followed her to a table in the back of the library; falling more than sitting down into a chair. I could already tell this wasn't going to end well. "Hmm, where to start?" She sat down across from me, propping her elbow on the table, drumming the surface with her nails of the other hand. She rested her cheek on her open palm, chewing her lip thoughtfully. "Souls don't just appear out of thin air. It has to start somewhere, and grow. So, when a child is conceived, the mother and child's souls are linked." She paused, and looked at me. I stared at the table, simply listening. I nodded to show I was following her, and she continued, "The child's soul is nourished by the mother's, basically. So, protecting your mother's soul from decay would have suffocated yours, and you wouldn't have lived." She cast me a worried glance.

"That makes sense." My response was flat and monotone. I hated talking about my mother like this. Even if I had never known her, it still hurt. But I had more questions, thought I didn't want to ask them. "But Artemis...My father's soul is bound to the city. How come everyone in it isn't having their souls corroded away?"

She drummed her nails on the table again, thinking. "Well, from what I can tell, when he bound his soul to the city, it caused a diluting effect on his wavelength. It became so weak that it would take a century for even the weakest human soul to succumb to decay even a little."

My father's soul didn't cause decay... and suddenly, it hit me.

"_Your mother lived for nine months."_

How was I so blind? Her death...it was all my fault! My soul was the one that corroded hers to the breaking point. If I had never been born...She would still be alive.

"Kid, are you okay? You're crying." Artemis's voice was laced with worry. I sniffed, my nose beginning to run.

"She died...because of me." A choked sob forced out my chest. I buried my face in my hands, trying to fight the tears. Artemis didn't respond. She knew it was true, and she wasn't even going to try and convince me otherwise. She was at my side, wrapping her arms around me, holding me against her as I sobbed. The librarian cleared his throat rudely not far behind us. Artemis lifted a hand, her middle finger raised at him. He huffed, and disappeared into the back. The witch wiggled into the edge of the chair I was sitting on, and I clung to her. I clenched my fists into the fur draped around her, burying my face in her shoulder. "I-I'm a monster. I killed my mother, and I'll kill anyone else close to me!"

Without anything to say, Artemis just let me cry, until I was so tired I just couldn't anymore. I sobbed miserably, sniffing loudly one last time. My breathing was still ragged. But even though my fit had stopped, I didn't feel any better. "I should have never been born." I summarized somberly, sighing into the wet patch of the witch's robe.

Artemis sighed, still hugging me, but relaxed slightly. "I'm sorry, Kid. Your mother was happy to give her life for you, and I'm sure she's watching over you, and I'd bet _my_ life she's damn proud of you." She smiled slightly, giving my back a small pat. "But hey, you're not hurting anyone anymore, right? You've got that beast on a leash."

The dragon... She had looked into my soul, so she must have come face-to-face with him. But, she was right, and it made me feel so much better, to know Maka wasn't being hurt anymore because of me. But still... If I wanted my love to live, we would never be able to have children. Would she want that? I would never want to take motherhood away from her. I had no doubt in my mind that she would be an amazing, loving, wonderful mother. That was a depressing truth, and something Maka would have to know. But, did I tell her now, and risk losing her, or spend as much time with her as I could before she left me? I let out a long sigh. I was too tired to think about that now.

Artemis let me go, standing up. I watched her with tired eyes, and she strode over to a bookshelf. She ran her finger over the spines of a few books, until she found the one she wanted, pulling it off the shelf with an, "Aha!" She walked back over to me, handing me the book.

I took it, looking it over. It had a dark, forest green cover with no writing on it whatsoever. It wasn't very thick, but when I opened it, the font was small and smashed together. It would definitely be a long read. "You came here to get a book, right? This is one of my favorites." She smiled at me, extending her hand for me to take. I grabbed it, and was hauled out of my chair by her. "We better get you home, huh?"

I rubbed an eye with the back of my hand, too tired to reply properly. I didn't know what time it was, but I didn't care. I just wanted to sleep.

Artemis chuckled at me, taking me by my hand and leading me out of the hallway. I stumbled a few times, but we finally reached outside. The moon hung high in the air, laughing down at us. Artemis let my hand go, and a few seconds later, she became a bear in a puff of smoke. "Come on, I'll give you a ride. You like you're going to pass out. I don't want you sleeping in the gutter!" She hip-checked me gently, smiling as best a bear could.

I was in no position to refuse her help, so with a bit of effort, I climbed onto her back. I hugged around her neck, laying over her rather than sitting. Her gait was long, and she swayed from side to side as she walked, creating a gentle rocking motion that wasn't helping me stay awake. I sighed contently. Her fur was warm against the cold night air. "Hey, Artemis."

"Yeah?"

"Thank you, for everything." I rubbed behind her ear, a tired smile spreading across my face before I fell asleep.

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><p><strong>Hm, this chapter ended up being a lot longer than I thought it would. Either way, it made me sad to write it. Kid finally figured out he alone is responsible for his mother's death. :c<strong>

**At least Arty is there to help him out. She'll become more and more of a mother figure to him as the story goes on.**

**So, I just copied and pasted every chapter of this into one Open Office document. It's somewhere around 57 pages.  
><em>Holy shit. <em>**


	13. December

P_erfect _S_ymmetry_

**I've gotten to the stage of my cold where I'm hacking my lungs out. It's so not fun.**

**I keep getting e-mails that someone has strong suspicions I'm selling/trading my WoW account. **

**I don't _have _one. **

**._.**

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><p>The month of November flew by, and before I knew it, there were holiday decorations around the city, people were in an incredibly festive mood, and the spirit of the holidays seemed to overflow as they drew closer.<p>

Death the Kid and I were together, by now everyone knew that. For the first week, I couldn't walk down a hall without a conversation stopping abruptly as I walked by, only to resume when I was out of earshot. Only an idiot wouldn't know they were talking about me. They could talk all they wanted, though. I didn't give a damn, and neither did Kid. We were happy with each other, and that's all that mattered. Soon enough, the whispering and rumors stopped, me and Kid were old news, and life went on.

Not long after that, however, I began to hear new rumors again. This time they weren't about me, though. Apparently, Soul and Jacqueline had gotten a lot friendlier with each other as of late. I was happy for him, until I walked on him having a _grand old time_ with Blair in the living room. I have yet to sit on that couch. It seemed Soul was a player, and he didn't admit it, bit he didn't deny it either.

It didn't bother me, though. It was a bit awkward to be around Soul sometimes, but for the most part, it didn't affect our relationship. We were still partners, and we still kicked ass together as a team.

Kid, Liz, and Patti were having difficulties, though. During training, occasionally their shots would fail, resonances break, and he was always horribly exhausted afterward. Once he even fell to the ground, holding his hands to his chest and writhing in pain, laying on the ground for almost ten minutes until he recovered enough to stand up. Every time I asked him what was wrong, he would give me a sad smile and answer, "It's nothing, we're just out of practice." I knew it was something more; being out of practice didn't make you collapse with pain, but I couldn't put my finger on any possibilities.

On the subject of Kid, he spent a lot of time with a new teacher at the DWMA, a polar bear like Blair with way too much magic power. She could talk, cast spells, change herself into human form, all of it. Something didn't seem right about the woman, though. I would walk into her office on occasion to ask her a few things, Kid sitting on a spinning office chair, laughing about something with her. I would almost be jealous, nervous even, if this woman wasn't so much older than us. Kid wasn't into that, right? No, of course not.

Finally, I asked him, "How do you know the new teacher, Artemis? You're always talking to her."

He smiled fondly and responded, "She's an old family friend." And left it at that. I liked the teacher, she was nice enough and fun to be in class with, but I was uneasy about her, was all. It was a bit odd to walk into the classroom on a particularly hot day and find a big-ass bear sprawled out on the cold floor, too.

On top of that, Excalibur was hanging around the school. I hated him as much as everyone else, but luckily, he was kicked out after about three days, literally thrown out the door by Artemis, who shouted a string of angry Norwegian at him and slammed the doors. Kid later told me what she had said. Repeating it would get me expelled from the Academy.

As the holidays drew closer, I was always pressing Kid about what he wanted as a gift, but he always shook his head and smiled, saying, "I'll be perfectly happy with anything you give me," which was the worst possible answer.

Finally I got irritated enough to yell at him, "Quit being so indifferent!"

He crossed his arms, holding his chin between his thumb and forefinger, thinking. "I want..." he huffed, annoyed with himself. "I don't know! I can't think of anything! Get me something you'd think I'd like! You know me."

I exhaled sharply, sick of that answer. "Fine. I'll just get you whatever then."

"Make sure it's symmetrical!"

"It'll be so asymmetrical you'll pass it before you even _see_ it!" He laughed like I was kidding, but had a nervous look in his eye, wondering if I really was serious. I wasn't, of course. I would never be _that_ mean to him. I laughed with him, and his nervousness washed away. I grabbed his hand, walking through the halls of the academy. The rest of our group was walking a bit ahead of us, talking amongst themselves and laughing. I was fine to stay a bit further back with Kid, though. Black*Star laughed loudly, spewing his nonsense about surpassing God, and all that.

"Maka," Kid looked down at me, swinging my hand forward to catch my attention. "What did _you_ want as a gift for the holidays?"

What _did_ I want? I had no idea, but I couldn't say, 'I don't know' after I had just yelled at Kid about it. So I said the first thing that came to my mind. "A coat." _What_?

"What?"

Why the hell would I want a coat? We lived in the friggin' _desert_. Kid looked at me questioningly for a moment. His eye widened, then narrowed, a sly smile spread across his face. He had me figured out, damn him. Why did he have to be so intuitive?

But he said nothing of it, just, "Oh, alright. A coat, then." He smiled and looked ahead, shaking his head at the antics of the group ahead of us. Patti had somehow been roused into a fight by Black*Star, and the blue-haired boy was losing miserably. "So, Maka, would you like to join me for lunch?" He smiled, squeezing my hand gently.

"Of course! I want to stop home and get a bit fixed up first, though."

"I'll pick you up at five?"

"It's a date." He stopped, letting my hand go and walking towards the Death room, waving me good-bye. I smiled and continued on my way. I hadn't seen Soul since the end of our fist class...Where was he? I forgot all about it as Artemis walked past me, stopping to say hello.

"Hi Artemis!"

"Hello, Maka! How are you doing?" She smiled, clapping her black palm against mine in a firm handshake.

"Wonderful! Kid and I are going out to eat later tonight!" Maybe I wanted to rub that in her face a little, but at the same time, I really wanted Artemis to like me; since she was so close to Kid. She already did, I knew that from the single class I had with her. But a little boost never hurt.

"Oh, that's lovely! Kid really thinks highly of you, you know. I hear nothing but good things about you from him!" She laughed, straightening the fur she kept on her shoulders. _Aren't Polar Bears endangered? _

My face got hot; I wasn't accustomed to that kind of flattery. Kid really said nice things about me to her? "Do you now?"

"Yup! It's Maka this, Maka that, it would almost be annoying if it wasn't so cute!"

"Thanks?" Well, she said _almost_ annoying. That wasn't quite full-blown irritating, which was a good thing. Right? "Well, I better go, I have to get ready!" A gave the bear a quick hug, and started down the hallway.

"Have fun, dear!" She smiled, and headed off to wherever she was going.

Now, to get home. The walk generally took me about ten minutes, but I was in a hurry, despite having almost two hours to get ready. I didn't want to be late!

I heard a few sounds from behind the door, but figured Soul was home and making himself something to eat. Upon unlocking and entering the apartment, I flicked on the light, stepping into the living room. The noises were in fact, _not_ Soul making a sandwich. Both Soul and Blair looked at me with shocked expressions, nude as the day they were born.

"_Oh my god._" I turned on my heel, and fled the apartment, not stopping until I reached the street. I had walked in on Soul and his newest conquest (whoever that may be) before, but this was one time too many. On the couch? Again? Did he really have to do...'that' on _our_ furniture? I sighed, and glanced up at the sky. Great. I had two hours until Kid would come pick me up. I sighed, and started walking. Maybe the Thompson sisters would help me.

I knocked on the huge doors of the mansion, waiting a moment until it cracked open, Patti peaking out at me."Hi, Maka!" She let the door swing open, giving me a fast, hard hug before shoving me in to the house. "Whatcha need?"

"Uh, well...Is Kid here?"

"No."

"Good. We're going on a date at five, and I can't use my own house to properly prepare, I was hoping you would help me. But if not, that's fine, too."

"Are you kiddin' me? Sis is great at that stuff! Of course we'll help!" She laughed, running up the stairs to get Liz. _Did I just make a horrible mistake?_

Followed by her sister, Patti came flying down the stairs again, putting her hands on my shoulders, smiling broadly. "Hey, Maka." Liz followed her, rubbing my head affectionately. "Patti said you needed some help, huh? I think we can do something for ya'." She smiled, and waved me up the stairs.

They forced me down into a chair in the bathroom, and looked me over. Liz hummed, tapping her foot. "It'll be tough, but we can manage!"

What was that supposed to mean? She pulled out the bands that held my pigtails, letting my hair fall down and fluffing it with her hands. "You want to look good for Kid, right? Well, we better make you symmetrical, then."

It took forever, but finally Liz had my hair down, curled, and _perfectly_ symmetrical. It was impressive, really. The two large curls that hung over my shoulders and onto my chest; the rest of my hair was pulled back into a curly ponytail. Liz had decided not to use a lot of make-up, so all I had on was a tiny bit of blush and some slightly darker eye shadow.

"Alright, now it's time to dress you up!" She tipped the chair back, letting me step out. I checked my phone for the time. It was four-thirty, and Kid was picking me up from my apartment at five. I still had some time, especially since Kid had a tendency to be late. Liz picked through her closet, looking for anything that was too small for her. She lifted something up, inspecting it a moment before turning to me. "This is it!" She waved the thing in front of her; it was a knee-length red cocktail dress.

"You want me to wear that?" It looked so...short. I didn't want to go out and look like a whore! Liz let out a small 'tsk' and put it back. "Besides, we aren't even going anywhere fancy! It's just lunch!"

"Alright, alright." She rolled her eyes at me and kept looking. "I insist on something red, though."

I looked at my phone again, nervous about the time. It was four forty now. "Liz, what I'm wearing now has red in it, and I don't want to be late!" I whined, ignored her as she yelled at me about being ungrateful, or something. I didn't have time for a lecture! Leaving the room and skipping two steps at a time, I made my way out of the mansion. Kid wasn't here, so where could he have been all this time? I had no idea. I stepped out onto the street, and started running for my apartment. I reached the front step, breathing heavily, but on time. Early, even. I fixed the curls in my hair, and brushed off my clothes. All that was left to do now was wait. It was four fifty. Ten minutes, plus some.

Much to my surprise, Kid was right on time, speeding down the street on his hovering skateboard. He came to slow stop in front of me, stepping off the board, taking a moment to look at me. A long moment. "Kid, you're staring!" My cheeks got hot, and he snapped back to reality.

"Sorry Maka, but how could I not? You're so beautiful." Smiling, he held a hand out to me, and I took it, giggling.

"Don't you mean symmetrical?"

He paused, helping me up onto the Beelzebub. "Well, yes. That too." He stepped on in front of me, holding his arms out for balance. I had never ridden on this thing before, so I clung to Kid's waist like my life depended on it. Because for all I knew, it did.

He chuckled, and we started off, slowly making our way through the city. I didn't even know where we were going, but Kid had something in mind, apparently. He stopped us in front of a small café I walked by every day, but paid no attention to.

He hopped off the board, turned to me, and put his hands on my waist, gently lifting me off the Beelzebub and into the air. "Kid! Put me _down_!" I kicked and struggled, but I was laughing all the same. He chuckled, and set me on the ground. I swatted his shoulder playfully. As he took my hand and we walked into the small shop, I hummed happily, and looked up at my date. "So, I thought of what I really want for the holidays."

"What? You mean you didn't _actually_ want a coat?" He looked up, bringing a finger to his lips as his tone practically oozed sarcasm.

"Oh, shut up. I least I said something!" I huffed, and nervous knot forming in my stomach. What would he say?

He sighed dramatically, rolling his eyes. "That is true. So, what do you really want?" He eyed me expectantly as we sat down at a small table, in the shade of a colorful red and white umbrella.

"I want you to let me move in with you."

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><p><strong>Thanks again for all the reviews, guys! I love you all!<strong>


	14. Confession

P_erfect_ S_ymmetry_

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><p><em><strong>OKAY <strong>_

**I just noticed that I had a different chapter up than this one for a while, which is embarrassing. I have every chapter of PS in the Doc Manager, and it isn't in order, so I accidentally put up the wrong one. Hahaha.**

**HOLY CRAP! I'm NOT dead!**

** Some time to myself, finally! My little German is spending the night somewhere in Mille Lacs with the rest of the group, so I have some time to write, finally!**

**We took them to MoA the other day, and they were like, "...Oh mein Gott!" It was interesting, that's for sure. I'm proud to say my little German is an adrenaline junkie. She rode every ride like a pro.**

**Did you know they don't have Abercrombie and Fitch in Germany? She **_**loves**_** that store. The smell gives me a headache.  
><strong>

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><p>"<em>I want you to let me move in with you."<em>

It took me a minute to process what she had just said. I stared at her dumbly for as while as she continued talking, only catching a few words of what she was saying.

"If I walk in on Soul and –"

What was I going to say? I couldn't say no without offending her and making her mad at me. She'd think something was wrong, and from there she might get suspicious of me, accuse me of something, and that might end our relationship.

"Castrate him with his own arm –"

But I couldn't say yes without telling her about everything. The barrier on my soul, Artemis, my mother, all of it. Would she reject me for it? Would she accept it? I had no idea. Maka could be unpredictable sometimes. That might end out relationship, too.

"So, what do you say? I'm on the brink of insanity, here."

But even if she was unpredictable, she was also one of the most understanding and caring people I knew. If anyone was going to be okay with it, it was her. It didn't help ease the pinch of nervousness in my stomach though. I smiled at her, and put my hand on hers.

"Of course you can move in with me, but..."

"_But_?" She looked concerned, though she had the right to be. I hated seeing her that way, her eyes wide, eyebrows raised, and a worried frown.

"I have to talk to you about something first, is all." I smiled softly, an attempt to make her feel better that failed. She looked even more concerned than before, and took her hand out from under mine. The metal of the table was cold in the shade. I didn't know what to say. I couldn't tell her it _"wasn't a big deal"_ or anything, because it was. "It doesn't have anything to do with you, I promise!" Her eyebrows went up even higher, a red flag. That hadn't been a very good answer.

"Oh? Then who does it have to do with, Kid?"

"Well, _me_. Maka..." I struggled to find words, fretting as the nervous feeling grew. Maka looked less than pleased, leaned back with her arms crossed over her chest, expecting an answer. Where to start?

I took a deep breath, might as well start with what I knew first. "To start, about a month ago, I'd have strange dreams, especially when I fell asleep in class or around people," And from there, the story went on and on. I told her about the dreams, about my father, about Freya and Artemis. The entire time she simply listened. Occasionally her eyebrows would go up, her brow would furrow, or she'd hum softly. Never once did she ask a question or interrupt me. She put her hand on mine when my mother came up, and I had to pause to recollect myself. I wasn't going to cry like a child in front of Maka, even though I'm sure she would forgive me under the circumstances. She looked more upset about it than me sometimes. Either way, my story continued for nearly half an hour, until I finally wrapped it up with, "So after all that, do you want to stay with me? I'll understand completely if you go."

She paused, her hand still on mine. She clenched her slender fingers around my palm, staring wordlessly. I could practically _see_ her thinking, considering every detail. Her sad, emerald eyes turned up to me after a long moment. My heart almost stopped, but I forced the feeling away._ If she wants to go, she can. It's whats best for her. _

"Kid..."

The way she said my name made the guilt and sadness in my heart double, if not triple. It was one word filled with sorrow and hurt.

"I wish you would have told me sooner." Her eyes flicked back to our hands. She hadn't let go, which I took as a good sign. "You're an idiot." That wasn't the answer I was expecting. A sad smile flashed across her lips as she looked up at me, and she clicked her tongue at me. "Don't block your soul, and stop being a reaper for my sake. I won't let you."

"Maka, it was the only way."

"No, it was the only way you found by yourself, in a few days. If we looked into it, I'm sure we could find another way to make this work without forcing you to give up your birthright. Besides, isn't that what caused you all that pain during training? I never want that to happen again."

"Maka, you don't understand; without the barrier you'll _die_. The price is worth the pain, Maka! I love you, even if you don't feel the same way anymore, I can accept that. Someday you'll want kids, and I won't be able to _give_ you that! I can-"

"-I still love you Kid! Besides, I'm way too young to be thinking about having children." She shook her head, a bright red blush on her cheeks. "Besides, if Reapers do have kids, they'll eventually fade away and be replaced by them. I don't want that to happen to you, Kid; _you'll_ die!" She was absolutely right about that part, and I had no intention of having children for a long, long time. That thought brought me to the sad realization that I would live a lot longer than Maka... I forced that thought out of my mind, turning my attention to the sandy blonde across from me. "No, I'm not going to leave you. I know there's a way to fix this, to make it _work_." I didn't know how to respond. I felt like a complete bastard for doubting Maka, even for a second. She really felt that way? "But, I'm still mad at you."

_Damn it. For what? _

"Kid, you don't have to hide these things from me, and it pisses me off that you didn't tell me sooner. You have to trust me if this is going to work."

I parted my fingers and looked at her. Her eyes were narrowed to a stern glare, and her grip on my hand was painfully tight.

"I'm sorry, Maka. I know I should have, but...I was scared." Her gaze softened (though she still looked impressively pissed of) and her death grip on my hand loosened. To my amazement (and concern) I found they had a dull purple hue. She really didn't know her own strength sometimes. I looked back up at her, wiggling my fingers to try and get them back to their natural, pale color. "I hope you can forgive me for not telling you sooner. It won't happen again, I can assure you.

She icily responded, "It _better_ not." She still wore that stern glare that made me feel like I was the most disgusting, puppy-kicking scum on the face of the earth. But after her dark and threatening proclamation, her scowl faded, replaced with a more worried frown. "...I figured Artemis wasn't a magic animal." She drummed her fingers on the table unhappily.

I knew Maka had no love for witches, but she had to know that not every single one of them was a little Medusa. "She's a wonderful woman." I tried my best to smile at her reassuringly, but she only glanced at me out of the corner of her eye, and went back to staring at the table. "Oh, come on. She's been nothing but kind to you."

She snorted, and rolled her eyes. "So was Medusa, until she snapped."

"What about Angela?" Her lip twitched in annoyance at my challenge to her logic. Angela was nothing more than a child, who followed Black*Star like a puppy whenever she got away from Mafune. Maka couldn't say she hated her, too. I had seen them playing together on multiple occasions.

"Angela is a child. She's too young for that stuff. How old is Artemis?"

"The centuries are in the double-digits. But that's no reason to condemn her. At least give her a chance, for me?"

I could tell she wasn't pleased about it, but she huffed, and nodded. "Fine. But if she slips up even once..."

I let out a small sigh. If Maka wanted to get to Artemis, she'd have to get through me first. But I hoped that was a bridge we'd never have to cross. I stood up, taking her hand and pulling her out of her chair. "So, if you're going to be moving in with me, we'll have to pack your things, right?"

With a deer-in-the-headlights expression, she let me tug her out of the small shop with only a little resitance. "Hey, wait! I'm still mad at you!"

I rolled my eyes at her. "You sure _sound_ like it." Really, her statement was more like a question, and it sounded a bit more confused than angry. But as I summoned the Beelzebub, she hopped on with no complaint, wrapped her arms around my waist, and smiled the whole way to her apartment. _Yup, she was _definitely_ still pissed off. _

When we arrived, she seemed a bit nervous about entering; hesitating a moment, holding the key in her hand. She turned red, and mumbled something about "Don't want to see that..." I leaned over her, putting my palms on the wood and pressing my ear to the door. I couldn't hear anything, but knocked just in case. No response.

"It's safe."

Maka let out a relieved sigh, and unlocked the door, stepping in. It was indeed empty; no lights were on, and it devoid of people or magical cats. "You don't have to help me pack, Kid." She started to wave at the couch, but halfway through the gesture she stopped, and let her hand fall. "You can...you know...sit on the floor, if you want..." She scratched the back of her head, waving a hand apologetically.

"No, I'll help. It's no problem, really." I smiled at her, and she nodded. Her apartment was small, but clean and homely. We stepped into her room, a small square with a bed, a closet, and a single bookshelf, stuffed to capacity with colorful bindings. The closet was little more than a dent in the wall, and she pulled a small suitcase out of the corner, throwing it onto the bed and unzipping it. I felt like a brick, taking up her space to move around, but she never asked me to help her, nor could I think of anything to do, so we made idle chit-chat as she slowly filled the bag. It was about half full when she stopped putting clothes in it, and turned to her bookshelf.

She was really going to use half of the space she had to bring books? "Maka, we can make another trip..." She scoffed, and continued looking through and neatly piling the ones she wanted.

"It's only the books I can't live without!" She stuck out her lip as she crammed three more into the suitcase.

"I don't think you'll die if leave a few books behind for a day." At the rate she was going, she'd have the entire case with her. She huffed unhappily, but left the rest of the books where they were. "C'mon, it's getting late."

"Alright, alright." She flopped the cover over, zipping the bag shut. She patted it with finality, and looked around. "This might be the last night I stay here." She looked around with sad eyes, falling onto the bed with a huff.

"You told Soul you were leaving, right?" I sat next to her, putting my hand on her knee. She leaned into my side, and I put an arm around her.

"Yup. He said it was 'uncool', but I don't think he meant it. He gets the whole place to himself, now." She put her hand on mine, lacing her fingers through my own. "No more worrying about me walking in on him."

_Soul will definitely enjoy that. _We sat in silence for a few long moments, the only sounds were our breathing. I broke it by adding, "I'm glad this hasn't affected your relationship with Soul."

She agreed with an, "Mhmm, me too. But we're close enough to understand that being apart might be the best option." She smiled, and looked up at me.

I leaned down and kissed her, her lips parting and allowing me in. The kiss broke with a wet, satisfying noise. She hummed, bring her legs up on the bed and leaning into me more. "You know, Kid, I don't think it's fair that Soul gets to have _all_ the fun here." She played with one of the buttons on my shirt not-so-innocently, looking up at me with sly green eyes.

"You're _absolutely_ right." A loud bang echoed through the apartment as Maka used her foot to carelessly push the suitcase off the bed and to the floor.

_This is happening. _The blonde hummed, drumming her fingers on my chest for a moment, thinking. "Aha," She got up, quickly slipping out of the room. I exhaled heavily. _This is happening! _I had though about it, and if it was half as good as I'd imagined, this was going to be a fun night indeed. I could hear some rustling from across the hallway, followed by an excited, "Ha!"

I kicked the suitcase further from the bed (hurting my foot in the process. How many books were in there, exactly?) waiting impatiently for her return. Liz and Patti loved to talk, and they loved making me awkward. So putting those two things together, I knew more than I should about what women want. Maybe I should have thanked them.

Maka slipped back into the room, leaving the door open slightly. She smirked slyly, reclaiming her place on the bed. She wrapped her arms around my neck, leaning against me. We fell back onto the mess of blankets, kissing and letting our hands wander.

It was all happening so fast. I had a plan in my head before, a scenario that was set out just right, with all the details planned perfectly; but I didn't give a damn about that anymore. Me and Maka were alone together, in her house, on her bed... _Hell yes._

She ran a hand through my hair, tugging on the waistband of my pants with the other, but not hard enough to get them off. I wished she'd just get rid of those truly awful things, they were getting a bit tight. I moaned impatiently, running my hands over her slender waist, and onto her hips. I roughly shoved my thumbs under the waistband of her skirt. She smirked at me, and crossed her legs ever so slightly. _Not this again. _"You dirty tease." She had me, and she knew it. I couldn't just take the skirt straight off, if I wanted it gone, I'd have to do it one side at a time, and that wasn't _symmetrical_.

She giggled, ruffling my hair with one of her hands. I glared flatly at her, which only made her laugh harder. "This isn't even fair."

"Life isn't fair, _Kiddo_." She leaned down as she spoke, brushing her lips softly against the shell of my ear. That woman knew how to use her voice, and it was driving me insane. She sighed like it was a huge inconvenience to her, but straightened her legs again. I smirked victoriously, and as I had the offending article of clothing around her knees – the sound of the door opening made us both freeze instantly.

"_Shit_! Soul is back!" She rolled off of me, tugging her skirt back up to her waist and scooping her black jacket off of the floor, placing it around her shoulders. She looked around frantically, turning to me and gesturing for me to get up as she picked the suitcase up off of the floor.

"Maka!" I sat up, hissing at her as quietly as I could, "What am I supposed to do with..._this_?"

She stopped, glanced at my pants, and snorted loudly. I didn't think it was very funny, but she had to bite her hand to keep from laughing.

"Maka!"

"Sorry, sorry!" _Sorry my ass._

"Maka? Are you home?" Soul's footsteps were getting closer and closer to her room. She grabbed my wrist, hauling me off the bed at pointing urgently at the closet. No. There was _no_ way I was hiding in her closet. I shook my head, earning me a slap to the back of the head.

"Yeah, just a second, Soul!" She put her hands on my back and roughly shoved me into the closet, closing the door behind me. Without a second to spare, I could hear her door creak slightly as Soul peered into her room. "Hey! Where've you been?"

"Eh, you know. Out."

Great. I was hot and bothered, in a dark closet, with nowhere to go, and Maka was making small talk with Soul. Just get him _out_ of here!

"Oh, alright. I was just packing my things. I'm going to Kid's tonight." There was a long pause, followed by a loud sigh from the weapon.

"If you ever need to come back, Maka, you're always welcome here, alright?"

I was going to hang myself with one of Maka's panties if they didn't _hurry up. _Wait a minute, Maka's panties? Well, this just got a little more tolerable. No, that wasn't fixing my problem! Wait a minute, was that a thong?_ No, damn it!_

"I know, Soul. Thank you."

"Be safe, okay?"

"What would I do with Kid that isn't sa-" There was another pause, a realization, and a loud crack that even I could hear. "_Soul_!"

"Ow, ow! I'm sorry!" He groaned, mumbling angrily. Maka had probably just hit him with a book. I almost laughed at the irony, though. Soul was completely right. "Sorry for caring! Hitting people with books is so uncool. But seriously, Maka, don't do anything stupid. If you need a co- Wait! I'm kidding! Take a joke, Maka!"

The temptation to say, "Don't worry, Soul, I've got it covered!" was almost overwhelming. It took a lot of willpower, but I resisted. But I still had a problem though, and my erection absolutely refused to cease. Okay, maybe if I thought about horrible, unattractive things, it would go away on its own. What were some unattractive things? Seven. The number seven was a truly awful number. Disgustingly asymmetrical, not to mention it was a prime number. I think I should have been embarrassed by the fact that was working, but I didn't care. Okay, something else. I racked my mind for anything that would instantly kill my mood, and I found my solution in one word: "Fool!" I hated Excalibur with a burning passion. One with the intensity of a thousand suns that would never falter. Seriously, why did that little dog-thing think he had the right to call everyone a fool? Plus, how come he never wore pants? No pants, I mean- Oh..._Fuck! Damn it! No_! I exhaled through my nose as quietly as I could. Okay, I was fine now.

"I'm going to bed, Maka. I'll see you around."

"Alright Soul. Good-night!" Soul shuffled out, and I heard the door click shut. After a short pause, and the sound of the shower started. I let out a sigh relief at the same time as Maka, and she knocked on the closet door. "Okay, Kid, you can come out of the closet now!"

I slid the door open, and stepped back into her room.

"Well, I'm glad to see you finally came out of the closet. I thought you were never going to." She smirked, avoiding eye contact with me.

"Ah ha _ha_." I rolled my eyes at her, walking past as she giggled. She could be so immature sometimes. I picked up her suitcase, and beckoned her out the door.

She glanced me over, and raised her eyebrows. "I see you took care of your little _problem_." She giggled again, escaping the room before I could reply. I just sighed, and followed her out. The sooner we got home, the better. I was truly exhausted.

Maka had finally calmed down, and we walked side by side out of the apartment complex, and onto the street. She took my free hand in hers, lacing our fingers together. "I'm sorry Kid." She hip-checked my gently, whimpering softly when I ignored her. "I'll make it up to you, I promise!" That caught my attention.

"Will you, now?" I raised my eyebrows at her. I wasn't sure how much I trusted her to truly '_make it up to me'_ in the way she implied.

"Yup." She nodded, swinging our hands back and forth as I pulled the suitcase across the bumpy road. Untwisting her hand from mine, she giggled and reached into one of the pockets of her long, black coat. I watched out of the corner of my eye, I could hear a small crinkling noise, and she pressed a small wrapper into my hand.

_Oh. _That's what she had done in Soul's room. I smirked, putting the condom in my back pocket. "I didn't know you had this in you, Maka."

She punched my shoulder lightly, a dark blush coloring her face. "Don't get used to it." With a small sigh, she put an arm around my waist, and I did the same. "Hey, Kid."

"Yeah?"

"I don't care if you've got a corrosive soul, a crazy witch friend, or anything. I still love you."

I smiled, and pulled her closer to me. "I don't care if you're the biggest tease I've ever met, if you act like you're ten sometimes, or anything. I still love you too."

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><p><strong>Hm, I think I'm going to keep PS rated "T". But, when I write the sequel, (Yes, when, not if) that'll definitely be rated "M". (unless you guys really want this bumped up. ._. ) Kid's kind of a horny little fuck, I could manage that.<strong>

**And sorry if Maka's response was...underwhelming. They're going to butt heads about a lot of stuff later on, and right now Maka and Kid are in a kind of 'honeymoon' phase. Eventually she'll get a little older and go, "Oh, _shit_..."**

**THANK YOU to all the reviewers! 50+ reviews, aw yeah!**

**_EclipseStripe_: I think we may have a conspiracy on our hands. What if the government made TWO OF US, and we're somehow linked together, but live in different places as part of some crazy experiment?**

**_Nesarex_: I might be offended if I didn't love potatoes so much!****I'm glad you like the story, and I assure you it's still being continued! DON'T DIE! IF YOU DIE, YOU'LL LOSE A HUGE PART OF YOUR LIFE!**


	15. Rain in the Desert

P_erfect_ S_ymmetry_

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><p><em>I hate living in the desert. Hate, hate hate. It's no place for a bear like me. <em>Hate is a strong word, but one I was completely comfortable with using in this situation. Normally, I would never say it. But it was so hot; burning on my paws whenever I went outside, so I felt it was acceptable.

Yep, there were only a few things I truly hated, but the desert was probably the one I hated the most. At least it was cold at night. But right now, it wasn't night. It was day, and day meant the sun, and the sun meant my life was a lot more uncomfortable than it should be. Class was going to start soon, at least. But seriously, had Lord Death ever heard of an air conditioner?

Students filed into the classroom, ones I knew, one I didn't, ones I liked, and ones I didn't much care for. I always smiled and waved at the kids coming in, but I always stopped Kid, and we usually talked until class started. Today was no exception, and as he walked in, hand in hand with his girlfriend, Maka, I waved him over. He said a few words to Maka, and let her hand go.

"Morning Kiddo! And morning to you too, Maka!" Kid smiled lazily and waved a hand at me, sauntering his way over as usual, but Maka, who usually beamed, waved, and said a cheery good morning, simply walked to her desk without a word. Huh. Maybe she hadn't heard me. My eye followed her to her seat, and drifted to Kid. He was watching Maka too, eyes filled with worry. "Kiddo, is somethin' up?" He looked a bit bothered. His lazy, eyes-half-open gaze was a little narrower, his brows pushed in, and a slight frown pulled on the corners of his lips. I tapped my shoe on the ground, the small taps catching his attention.

"What was that? Sorry Artemis."

"I asked if something was up. But now I know there is, so now my question is: What's bothering you?"

I raised an eyebrow at him, drumming my fingernails on my desk. He didn't respond for a long moment, and finally let out a defeated sigh.

"I'll talk to you about it later."

_What the fuck kind of answer was that? _"Want to talk in my office after class?"

"Yes, that would be fine." With that, he turned and quickly strode to his seat, next to Maka. She was usually so friendly and talkative, all smiles and laughter. Now she slumped in her chair, silently observing out the window. Had she and Kid had a fight? No, they were holding hands when they walked in. He tapped her shoulder and said something to her, to which she smiled slightly, but rolled her eyes and continued staring at the sky. What was there to see out that window, anyway? _Wow, the sky sure is blue today! How fantastically unusual! _I don't understand children these days.

Damn, why did my dominant sense have to be smell? I'd love to be able to hear every conversation in my room. Maybe I needed to give Tobias a call.

Lord Death had informed me that, in the past fifty years ago, hitting disobedient children had become frowned upon, which was really a shame. If I was allowed to do that, I wouldn't have a problem with Soul, Black*Star, Ox, or any of the other students who constantly made a fuss. Even Kid got on my nerves, when he freaked out about something being asymmetrical. I settled with sending them outside and harsh scolding, along with the occasional threat. It usually kept the quiet for a while, at least.

I started my lesson, writing a few things on the chalk board, lecturing, and whipping out my nifty models every now and then. I tried to keep my class as interesting as possible, but nearly every day I had _someone_ fall asleep on me. Nine times out of ten, it was Soul. He was lazy, he never paid attention, and I don't think he even tried to stay awake, but he still had decent grades. I suspected Maka was helping him through it. But now that she had moved out, I expected his grades to start falling fast. I sighed, and opened a drawer of my desk. I had two things for waking up sleeping students. One was an air horn, given to someone sitting next to the sleeping student and blown in their ear. The other was a gun that shot green, soft foam balls at a high speed. (Lord Death had told me that was a perfectly acceptable method of waking them up, since it wasn't beating the children!)

I picked up the air gun, aimed it carefully, and after a few pumps of the manual air compressor, pulled the trigger. The ball flew out of the barrel with a small pop, hitting Soul Eater Evans square in the forehead. He snorted awake, slapping a hand to his forehead. The balls were made of simple foam, but they hurt nonetheless. "Soul, for the last time, don't fall asleep in my class. Unlike Stein's hollow threats, after a while my projectile _will_ hit."

He mumbled something, still rubbing his forehead. I rolled my eyes at him, and went back to the lesson. I was teaching them about the history of soul discovery and development (which was a real bitch, since the entire history involved me, and I couldn't exactly say that 'Artemis' was responsible, while assuring them that the name and polar bear and soul thing were a complete coincidence. I ended up telling them that the witch Ansfrida was responsible for it. I really hoped they all took my word for it and didn't look into it any further.)

Finally, after over an hour of alternatively telling lies and scolding Soul, class was dismissed. The student filed out one by one, although Kid and Maka remained where they sat. Kid was telling, or rather explaining, something to her. She huffed at him, replied shortly, got up, and left the room.

Kid sighed heavily, slowly collecting his things and coming to the front of the classroom. I didn't even try to offer him a reassuring smile or touch. Instead he hustled to my office in the back of the room, disorderly throwing his crap on a chair, and falling down into another with an irritated sigh.

"Alright, Kiddo. What's bothering you?" I gently shut the door behind me, taking a seat across from him in my chair.

"Well..." He spun back and forth lazily in the wheeled office chair, clicking his tongue as he though about his next words. "I had to tell Maka. I told her everything. About the Soul Corrosion, about the barrier, and about you." His golden eyes met mine, and he slumped guiltily in the chair.

"So?" I didn't think that was a problem at all, since they had seemed fine. Maka seemed like the kind of gal to take news of such caliber in stride. "She seemed alright, what's the issue, then?"

"She's alright with everything, except for you. Maka _hates_ witches, because of one in her past. The witch Medusa did terrible things to her, Crona, Soul, and Stein... But because of that, she thinks that every witch is as evil and maniacal as she was. It doesn't help that Medusa was a DWMA staff member for quite some time without anyone knowing she was a witch." He looked at me again, waiting for a response.

"...Dritt. That's a bummer." I spun in complete circles in my chair as I thought, until I whacked the edge of my desk with my foot. Hard. _Ow! _"I don't know what to say, Kiddo. It'll be hard to have her trust me after an experience like that. I met Medusa, once. Her son Crona, too." I grimaced at the memory. The way the pink haired little child followed her around, eyes wide and weary, nervously looking around at everyone, like the whole world was out to hurt him. The way he acted, it was like a dog that had been kicked by its master, always expecting another blow. "She was an awful woman." I shook my head, habitually twirling a strand of hair between my fingers. "There really isn't anything I can do to make her see...?" I sighed too, getting more and more frustrated by this situation. Witches like Medusa made life so much harder for the rest of us, the witches who kept a low profile, didn't bother anyone, and just wanted a bit of equality.

"She won't listen to reason. I've tried to talk with her about it, but her temper is short about this kind of thing."

"Kid, if it came down to it, and you had to choose one of us..."

"That isn't going to happen."

"If it does, though–"

"–It won't."

Being a stubborn little ass wasn't going to help him here. If things didn't get cleaned up fast, him having to chose was a very real possibility. It was the kind of thing to plan ahead for, in my mind. I wouldn't be offended if he chose her, either. Well, maybe a little...but I'd get over it. "Really, Kid. Let's just say that, _hypothetically_, that's what it comes down to. Who do you choose?"

**-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-**

I didn't like the way Artemis was badgering me about this. I could get this figured out, if she'd give me some time. Choosing between Maka and Artemis, the two most important women in my life...Picking the girl I loved, or the person who had become the closest thing I had to a mother.

"Hypothetically?"

"Yep."

Hypothetical my ass. She could use that word as much as wanted, it was just a mask. She wanted to know. Would she try and swing me to her side? Would she be angry with me if I chose Maka? I pressed a finger to my lips, in some vain attempt to focus. "I don't know, Artemis. It's not the kind of decision that can be made in a few minutes."

She hummed, spinning lazily in her chair again. "Alright then," She reached onto her desk, grabbing a piece of paper and a pen. She set it down in front of her, covering it with her arms so I couldn't see what she was scribbling on the paper. Finally, she picked it up, spun around to face me, and set it on the desk with the pen.

On the paper were two names: Maka and Artemis. Each was underlined, and a thin line separated the paper into two vertical halves, a name on each side.

"I want you to write everything good about Maka on her side, and everything you value about me on my side. I won't look until you're done, if you want."

"No, it's fine." I picked up the pen, sliding the paper a little closer to me. Artemis sat up from her chair, striding to the other side of the office to make some coffee. I tapped the pen on the desk, letting it bounce between my fingers as I thought. I started with Maka, racking my brain for everything that made her so special to me. I had no trouble finding things, though sorting my thoughts and singling items out was a challenge. I scratched down a few words here and there, paused to think, and sighed. Once I was done, I re-read my list. It was rather small, and most of the things on my list weren't things worthy of a stay-or-go list. I circled four main things: Symmetrical, tolerant, wonderful (as a general term, and sex.

Maka, unlike most of the human population, was absolutely symmetrical. She had no freckles to throw it off, her pigtails were always even, her facial features were in perfect alignment. "Symmetrical" summed up everything about her physical appearance I valued.

She was one of the most tolerant people I knew, when it came to me, at least. She never complained when I threw a fit about symmetry. I knew she didn't think my slight OCD was cute or funny by any means, but she didn't drastically lean in the other direction either, which was more than I could say for most people. She was, at the moment, willing to stay with me despite the Soul Corrosion. Even though she didn't approve of my methods of containing it, she hadn't left me the second I told her. She was being a little iffy about the Artemis situation, although if I had been in her position, I might feel the same way. It would just take some time to sort it out.

Maka also had a wonderful way of making me feel loved, she made me smile where few other could, and when I was around her, I was always laughing and enjoying myself. She had moments when I wanted to rip my hair out and just ask myself, "Why?" But they had been few and far between until recently. For the most part, being around her was something I could always look forward to.

And finally, sex. We hadn't _had_ it, (after getting home the night before, unpacking all of Maka's belongings had considerably tired both of us out) but it was definitely something I wasn't going to get, and didn't particularly want, from Artemis, so it was worth putting on the list.

Now, to the other side. That took me even longer, as I though long and hard about it. The woman in question had finished making and drinking her cup of coffee a long time ago, and the effect of the drink had since worn off. She now slept in her chair, head leaned back and sprawled out in the small space behind her desk.

I sighed, and finally wrote the only word that had come to me the entire time I had spent brainstorming.

_Mom._

If I had anything close to a mother, she was it. She was always watching out for me, asking if I was eating enough, or needed anything. If I needed to get something off my chest, or something was on my mind, she was the one I talked to. She was the single person I felt I could tell everything and anything, and not be judged, gossiped about, or otherwise. She always had something helpful to say, advice to give, and support to offer. The witch was the only person I felt I could cry around without being marked as some kind of overemotional bleeding heart. She was truly the mother I never had, and had always wanted.

Now I had to choose one.

_No_. No I didn't. This whole situation was "hypothetical". I sighed, folding the note neatly and putting it in my pocket. I wasn't in the mood for this anymore, not that I was to begin with. It was giving me a headache, and I had time to think about it later today or tomorrow. I slipped out of the office without waking Artemis, walking down the halls of the Academy. It was lonely, the way my steps echoed through the school.

I had nothing left to to there, so I started the short trip home. Maka had left before me, saying she was heading home as well. She knew I was going to talk to Artemis, and she wasn't happy about that, but at the same time she sympathized with me, and had the smallest bit of understanding in her tone.

It still confused me though, why she wasn't mad that, for a brief time, being around me had been killing her, she couldn't have children with me, and I hadn't told her any of this for months. But no, the thing that made her so angry with me was my relationship with a witch. Did she really have that much a burning hatred for them? It was strange to think about, the usual loving, caring, forgiving Maka acting this way.

I stepped out of the school, and looked up at the sky. It was a rare gray day, the sun obscured by melancholy clouds. That's about how I felt right now. Gloomy and gray. I flinched involuntarily as a drop fell on my forehead. Rain? That was rare, but not unheard of. It started to rain a harder as I walked down the steps, and I picked up my pace to a jog. I _hated_ being wet!

By the time I pulled, or rather, wildly yanked, the door to my mansion open, the sky had turned black, and it was raining like nobody's business outside. I was drenched, soggy, cold, and crabby. I slammed the door, kicking my shoes off and beginning my march upstairs to take a shower. I hardly noticed Maka sitting on the couch, idly watching TV, until I was barked at.

_Barked at?_

I whirled around, eyes wide as my gaze fell on a massive dog, the biggest I had _ever_ seen, laying on the floor at Maka's feet. I looked up to my girlfriend, who was giving me a smug, "Thats-what-you-get" kind of look at my drenched clothes.

"THAT DOG, _OUT_! NOW!" The only thing I hated more than being wet was asymmetrical things and animals. Especially in my house. "GET THAT FILTHY ANIMAL OUT OF MY HOUSE!"

The dog whined, holding its head and looking up at me with big, droopy eyes. The beast looked like a German Shepard, but it was ridiculously fluffy and the size of a Saint Bernard. Great, that meant tons of drool and hair all over the place. How much fur had it shed already?

Maka stared me down, coolly responding, "No. I like him." She smiled, and rubbed his head. The dog woofed, it's tail thumping the ground loudly.

I stared her right back, not budging an inch. Fuck being wet – this was much worse. What if it pissed on my carpet? That was not only be disgusting, it would mean the room was asymmetrical. I highly doubted it would decide to piss again in the exact same spot on the other side of the room so it was unacceptable. Absolutely unacceptable. I took a deep breath, trying to calm down. "Maka, why is that dog here, anyway?"

"It started raining outside, and he looked so sad out in the rain, I had to let him in!" She rubbed his ears, making the dog groan loudly and flop his head against her legs, his tail still thumping happily. Maka glanced up at me, putting her hands on both sides of the dog's head, making look at me head on. It seemed confused, but didn't resist. "Kid," She began calmly, a small glint in her eye. What was she doing? "Look closely at this dog. Long and hard."

I huffed, but did. It looked at me with big, happy brown eyes. I tipped my head as I noticed. Damn that girl, but this dog was... "Perfectly symmetrical..." The black mask on its face ended in the exact same placed on both sides of it's head, the fur was perfectly parted, ears tilted the same way. Hell, even the paws had matching white markings. _Damn that girl. "No!_ No, damn it!" I shook my head, trying my hardest not to fall over and worship this dog. Such perfect symmetry! "It..it has..." I sighed, giving in.

"Good! Because even if it wasn't symmetrical, you still owe me." Maka stuck her lip out at me, and I raised an eyebrow at her.

"Owe you? For what?"

"Because," She leaned back on the couch, crossing her arms over her chest, but still rubbing the dog with her foot, "If I can't have a child, I can at least have a dog."

A huge pang of guilt stabbed my heart, and I knew I wasn't going to win this. She was absolutely right. It was the least I could do, for all I took from her with this relationship.

She beamed as she realized the dog was as good as hers, and flew off the couch. Wrapping her arms around my neck, she squealed happily. "I love you, Kid!"

"I love you too, Maka." I was still a bit confused at this whole ordeal. Wasn't she mad at me earlier? _God, it _must _be that time of the month. _I hugged her back until she let go, excitedly falling to the floor with the dog, who woofed at her playfully as she hugged and wrestled with it. "What's his name?"

"Hmm..." She paused for a moment, giggling as the dog tried to paw at her face, eager to play more. "I don't know what kind of dog it is, but I think Lukas is a good name!"

The dog whined, and looked up at her sadly. His tail drooped, and he stopped panting.

"What? Don't like that?" Smart dog. "Alright then," she tapped his nose, still thinking. "He looks kind of like a German Shepard, what's a good German name?" The dog whined, tipping his hed. His ears perked forward a bit. I couldn't deny it, he _was_ cute. "Axel!"

Axel seemed much happier with this, barking loudly and thumping his tail more. I swear, if he broke anything with it, I was going to cut it off. Great, I had a dog.

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><p><strong>AN:** Hmm, that sums it up. Axel does have a relevance to the plot, he isn't just some random dog. He's a "Leonberger". Look it up on google images if you want a visual.

Okay, now that I'm back from work...

**Wordfiend:** Artemis isn't necessarily making him choose, she's making him think about it carefully and consider his options beforehand in case it happens. **Birdofdarkness:** Thanks for the review...?

So in other news, I think my dog got stung by a bee. Her face is all puffy on one side and she keeps scratching it. :c Also, my little German sister left, so now I have free time up the wazoo. Back to regular updates! Yay. But I miss her. v_v I get to see her again in eight months (Ha.) when I go to Germany, though!


	16. In Which Maka is Verbally BitchSlapped

P_erfect _S_ymmetry  
><em>

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><p>I sat in the living room, twiddling my thumbs and wondering what to do. I was alone in the mansion, all the other occupants out on their own business, with the exception of me.<p>

Liz was out with her boyfriend. She didn't tell me who that was, and I was certain she wasn't going to. I didn't really care though, it was her business. What mattered was she wasn't _here_.

Patti had decided to go shopping. Knowing her, that meant maxing Kid's credit card at a toy store, shortly followed by a trip to a craft store to get origami paper. That girl's obsession with giraffes was strange. But then again, _Patti_ was strange.

Lastly, Kid was out taking Axel on a walk. I had been admittedly skeptical of him when he suggested it. We both knew just how little he liked that dog. He avoided contact with it at all cost, saying it was filthy animal that would get hair on his nice clothes. When I asked him why he wanted to take Axel out, he sighed and said, "I don't want you to have to do it all the time. If he's going to be staying, I might as well get used to it." It struck me as odd, but I appreciated the gesture. It was nice to be able to sit and relax, boring as it was. Taking the leonberger out was a hassle; He was a big dog with a lot of energy who didn't know his own strength. More often than not I returned covered in dirt and twigs, extremely pissed off at the extremely oblivious dog.

So now, I had nothing to do. It was boring, just sitting around. There was nothing to watch on the TV, and as far as I knew, all of my other friends had plans today too. I sighed heavily. _If I'm going to be sitting around, I might as well do something productive._

Kid kept the house spotlessly clean, even with the addition of the dog. So there wasn't much I could do there. I leaned forward, putting my hands on my back, cracking my spine in several places. I let out a contented, "Ahh," and looked around. Now that I thought about it, Kid was a bit behind on laundry._ I'll do that, then._

I went up to our room, hauling the white basket we put our laundry in out of the room and down the hall. Shuffling awkwardly into the wash room, I put my hands on my hips as I thought about what to do with it all. Most of it was my stuff, but Kid had a few articles to be washed. _I'll wash black things first. That's what there's the most of anyway._

My coat, one of Kid's shirts, another shirt, his pants...

I was about to throw it into the washer without a thought, but I heard a small crinkle come from one of the pockets. _I don't want anything important to go through the wash..._I reached in, and took out a small, square piece of paper. It was light blue in color, and folded neatly.

I started unwrapping it, wondering aloud to myself, "What's this?" and finding it was a small piece of scrap paper with some writing on it. One side had "Maka" written on it – _Hey, that's me!_ – the other half had "Artemis" written on the top. The letters on the top were obviously not Kid's handwriting, it was far too messy. But below were several words, some circled, some crossed out, and a strange doodle of a bear in one of the corners that definitely belonged to Kid. I stared, confused. Under my name was written: Symmetrical, tolerant, wonderful, and. – my face turned red as I read the last one – sex. I had no idea what it was about, but it was confusing the hell out of me. Under the other column, Artemis, was written just one word. Mom.

I re-read it a few times, stumped, until something clicked in my head.

_He's comparing us._

That mother _fucker_. So, this was how things were going to go, huh? He was going to choose between me and some witch, was he? Well, if I had anything to say about it, he wasn't going to _have_ to choose. I abandoned the laundry, flying down the steps of the mansion two or three at a time. I wanted to find him and confront him about it, but another part of me just wanted to fucking _leave_.

I was so pissed off, and so _hurt_, that I just wanted to sit in a corner and cry. _All men are the same. Make you think they love you, and then – _Huffing unhappily, I was about to put my hand on the door to leave when it opened from the other side, causing me to trip forward and yelp loudly.

"Whoa, Maka! What the hell are you doing?" I regained my balance to see Black*Star, looking equally as surprised as I was.

"Oh, hi there Black*Star." A bit too stunned to remember about being angry, I could only tip my head and ask, "What are you doing here?"

He looked even more surprised then he had been a few minutes ago, like me asking that question was _completely_ unexpected. He turned red, and nervously brought a hand to the back of his head. "Someone as awesome as me doesn't need a reason to go somewhere!" He laughed obnoxiously, until he noticed the very flat stare I was giving him. He pouted a little, but finally mumbled, "I'm here to see Patti."

"Patti isn't here right now, sorry." I was about to shut the door, but he held it open with his foot. I was getting irritated again, and this idiot wasn't helping.

"Do you know when she'll be back?"

"_No_." My second attempt to shut the door failed too, as he put a hand on the door, locking his arm and keeping it in place. (Damn him for being stronger than me!)

"Mind if I wait here?"

"Ye–"

"Great!"

That kid couldn't read an atmosphere if someone wrote him a book about it. I was pretty sure I was practically radiating waves of impending doom, but he didn't seem to catch it. I sighed, and shut the door behind him as he sauntered in, defeated. I wasn't going to leave him alone in the house, after all.

I didn't speak a word to him, hoping he'd catch the vibe and leave, but he just sat himself on the couch, and tried to make a conversation. "So, Maka. How've you been?"

The amount of awkward in the room was staggering, but I raised an eyebrow, replying, "Fine."

He raised an eyebrow back, and stood up. "You don't look fine. You look seriously pissed off."

"Oh, did you just notice that?" I crossed my arms, tapping my foot on the floor impatiently. _Now we're getting somewhere. Get out of my – No, Kid's – house!_

He suddenly beamed, leaving me more than a bit confused. What the hell was he all smiles about? "Anything that's bothering you, you just let me know, Maka! Is it someone? I'll kick their asses into next _week_!"

Ha. Wouldn't that be something to see. _I'm pretty sure Kid kicked _your_ ass last time you fought, and the time before that..._But not without taking a few hits first. And who knows, maybe Black*Star could win, with Kid's soul barrier and all. "Actually, it _is_ someone..." I snorted, and looked away from the blue-haired assassin. His expression had immediately turned serious. "Kid."

"Kid? Wait, aren't you guys together or something?"

"Tch, not after this." I flicked the piece of paper at him.

He caught it, and unfolded it. "Okay...What is it?" He looked up at me over the paper.

I rolled my eyes at him. As if it wasn't obvious enough. "Look, Kid's choosing between me and Artemis." He continued to stare at me, but now like I was an idiot. "What?"

"Well, if you ask me, looks like you're winning. 'Symmetrical, wonderful..." He trailed off, a slight chuckle escaping him as he read the last one. I rolled my eyes at him. _So immature._

"But I'm _not_ winning. How can I compete with someone he sees as his mother? But I suppose _you_ wouldn't know, you've never had one." I looked up at him, and immediately regretted what I had just said to him.

He looked hurt at first, like a dog that had just been hit. But it quickly changed to anger, his eyebrows furrowing together and a sharp scowl taking the place of his slight smile. He crumpled the paper in his hands, throwing it at me. It fell to the floor at my feet without a sound. He began to walk out, only pausing for a moment as he stood at the door to turn and say, "You know he's choosing, Maka? Because you've been a real bitch lately. Think about it." And with that, he slammed the door shut as he left.

I wasn't –!

_Think about it._

And I did. I was mad at him for choosing between me and Artemis, obviously. ...But really, the only reason he would do that was because I was _making_ him choose. If I had no problem with Artemis, he would have no problem with both of us. Was I so selfish that I couldn't tolerate another woman besides me in Kid's life? Yes, there was Liz and Patti, but they were his weapons; So it was a different sort of connection. But one on a deep emotional level? I guess not.

I bent down, and picked up the paper again. I smoothed out the wrinkles in it, and looked at the words. _Maka: Symmetrical, Tolerant, Wonderful..._

Tolerant? Not really. I wasn't tolerant enough to accept a witch, another woman, a new idea... But Kid had looked past all of that. Truly, he had tolerated _me_ and _my_ bullshit all this time...

I sunk to the floor, sitting with my legs splayed out to the sides. I read the one word under Artemis's name again.

_Mom._

A mother. That was all Kid wanted, and _I_ was keeping it from him. _Not so wonderful now, am I? _I was so caught up in my own past, with my father and mother, and the divorce that I couldn't see the future, and what Kid wanted. So worried about myself,a nd obsessed with what my father did that I didn't even stop to think about what Kid might want. It was all about me, wasn't it? I had mor ein common with my father than I thought, apparently.

Tears sprung into my eyes, and all I could do was let them fall. I didn't have the right to wipe them away and deny the reason they were there. I choked as I inhaled, sobbing loudly as I let myself fall on my side to the floor. I buried my face in my hands, crying heavily into the carpet. How had Kid handled me this whole time? He had been there, done everything, and despite me being nothing but a royal bitch since he told me about the witch and his soul, stayed with me. I had so much to be thankful for in Kid, and I had taken it all for granted. I _hated_ that it took me a verbal bitch slap from Black*Star, of all people, to realize that.

_I don't deserve him. I really don't._

I clutched the paper against my chest, finally winding down from my fit as the tears stopped, but still gasping and shuddering for breath.

"Maka? Maka! Are you alright?" I hadn't noticed the door creak open and Kid return with Axel until he was calling out to me, dropping to the floor beside me, leaning over and trying his best to comfort me. "Maka, what's wrong? Did something happ-" Without warning, I sat up and hugged him tightly around the neck. And oh fuck it, but I was crying again, new tears clinging to me cheeks and falling onto Kid's shirt.

"K-kid, I'm so s-orry..." I hugged him tighter,sniffing loudly as my nose began to run again, the comforting squeeze he gave in return only making me cry harder.

"Maka, I have no idea what this is about but...I forgive you."

I couldn't help but laugh through my tears, though it came out as even harder sobs. Just more proof that he really was perfect, and damn too good for me. He didn't even have to know what I did, and that idiot was forgiving me.

We just sat there for a few long moments until I finally let go, slumping to the floor again. Kid still looked confused as hell, sitting across from me on the floor. "I'm sorry I've been so difficult lately." I couldn't bring myself to look him in the eyes, so I stared at the floor, barely more than mumbling what I said. "I've been so concerned about myself, I didn't think about anything else, including you." I sighed heavily, jumping slightly as Kid put his hand on my shoulder. I slowly looked up at him, noticing the smile on his face.

"It's alright, Maka. I knew you'd snap out of it eventually."

I laughed dryly at his remark. _He doesn't deny my shitty attitude, then. _I sighed again, happily this time, all of the shuddering from my crying fit finally gone. I looked over at Axel, who looked nearly dead as he lay on the floor. "What did you do to him?"

Kid hummed, looked over at Axel and responded, "Nothing. He just discovered that Reapers are a bit stronger than him." chuckling darkly, he stood up, brushed a small bit of the mass of fur from his pants as best he could, and offering me a helping hand.

Smiling, I took it. As he pulled me up, I used the momentum to pull myself into his chest, wrapping my arms around his waist in another hug. He rested his chin on the top of my head, gently rocking us back and forth. "What did I to to deserve you spoiling me like this?"

"Aside from being amazing, absolutely nothing." He chuckled, and let me go. I smiled at him, but noticed the paper on the floor, and grimaced. "Kid, I have to go do something."

"What is it? Do you need my help?"

_What is it? A lesson in humility, that's what. _I had to go apologize for Black*Star for what I had said. I felt awful about it now, and losing his friendship was the last thing I wanted. I shook my head, letting Kid's hand go. "No, I've got it covered. I have to go talk to Black*Star, is all." I waved to him, opening a heavy door and sprinting as hard as I could as soon as I stepped foot outside. Where did Black*Star go when he was upset?

In all honesty, I didn't know for sure. But I had an idea, so I changed course and headed to the DWMA.

I was huffing and puffing by the time I reached it, but in what seemed like no time at all, I was standing on the balcony of the academy. As I thought, Black Star was laying on the stone, looking up at the blue sky in silence. A tight knot formed in my stomach, and I really didn't want to, but I stepped forward. "Hey, Black*Star."

He remained silent, but his eyes flicked in my direction.

"Look, I'm really sorry for what I said earlier." I bit my lip, wondering if I should try siting with him. I decided against it as he remained motionless. "You were absolutely right about me. I realize that now. I don't know how I can make you forgive me..." I watched him expectantly, but he didn't reply, just sat up, turned to me, and flashed me one of his king-of-everything smiles. I laughed, and smiled too. "Does that mean we're cool?"

"Does this mean you're done being a control freak mega-bitch?"

_Way to put it nicely._ "Yep."

"Then we're cool!" He fist pumped at the same time shouting, "YA-_HOOO_! I think we should celebrate! How about we get everyone together and play some basketball?"

"No thanks, Black*Star."

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><p><strong>AN:** I decided to move all of the Author's notes down here. It looks nicer that way, and it makes the story flow better. Anyway, here you go Wordfiend! Maka finally realized what a snot-assed little bitch she's been lately, and now she's a lot nicer hurrdurr.

But yeah and stuff.


	17. Oh hai

Do people still read this story? I get random emails from people subscribing to it. How do you even find it buried under..._everything_?

Sorry If I got your hopes up that this was an actual update. (I'm actually not.)

Anyway, I'm posting this to say if you haven't figured it out already, I kiiinda fell out of the fandom. On top of that, this story is just shittily planned (as in it had none at all) and makes no sense. Hahaha!

I still haven't read the manga, so** IF** I do that and **IF** I get back into the fandom, I'll re-write this story with an acceptable plot. 'Til then, yeah. This ain't going anywhere.


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